Travel deep dive
Mosi-oa-Tunya From the Zimbabwean Side
Victoria Falls, Mosi-oa-Tunya, “the smoke that thunders”, is where the Zambezi drops about a hundred metres into a narrow gorge along an edge of basalt some 1.7 kilometres wide, on the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia. Most of the falls face Zimbabwe, and from the Zimbabwean side a path through the rainforest on the opposite cliff looks at them from the front along nearly their whole length. The town of Victoria Falls, a short walk away, serves the falls, the river above them and the gorge below, and is the starting point for Hwange.
Updated 2026-10-08
The rainforest path
The falls park on the Zimbabwean side follows the cliff opposite the falls through a strip of rainforest kept green by the spray. The path starts by the statue of David Livingstone at the western end, above the Devil's Cataract, and runs past viewpoints over the Main Falls, the Horseshoe Falls and the Rainbow Falls to Danger Point, where the river turns into the gorge under the bridge. Each viewpoint shows another stretch of the falls, and the whole walk takes a couple of hours at an easy pace.
High water and low water
In the months after the rains, from about February to May, the Zambezi runs at full volume, the spray rises far above the gorge and soaks the path, and at times it hides the view; a raincoat and a waterproof bag for the camera are part of the visit. As the river drops through the dry season, the view clears and the rock face shows, and late in the year the falls thin, though the Zimbabwean side keeps water on its main stretch when the far end has run dry.
The bridge and the gorge
The Victoria Falls Bridge, built in 1905, spans the gorge between the Zimbabwean and Zambian border posts, and bungee jumps and swings are made from it. Below, the Zambezi runs through the Batoka Gorge in a string of rapids that are rafted from both sides, best when the water is low, and a zipline and walks along the rim show the gorge from above.
The river above the falls
Above the falls the Zambezi is wide and calm, scattered with islands, and cruises at the end of the day pass hippos, crocodiles and elephants on the banks. Upstream of the town, the Zambezi National Park follows the river with game drives and walks among elephant, buffalo and antelope, and flights over the falls by helicopter or microlight show the whole edge and the zigzag of the gorges.
The town of Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls is a small, walkable town of hotels, lodges, craft markets and activity operators, with the falls park at the end of its main street. Warthogs and baboons wander its verges, and on the road to the river stands the Big Tree, a great baobab. The town is the natural base for two or three nights, with the drive to Hwange or a short flight south when they are done, the opening of ten days through Zimbabwe.
Crossing to Zambia and Botswana
The bridge leads on foot to the Zambian side of the falls and to Livingstone, where the paths come closer to the water and the pool on the lip opens at low water. To the west, the Kazungula crossing leads to Botswana and the town of Kasane, at the edge of Chobe National Park, and day trips there are common. Each border has its own entry rules, checked before the trip.