On Swimming at the Edge: Devil's Pool, Considered
The most photographed swim in Africa is safer than it looks, if you follow the rules. What you need to know.
Devil's Pool is a natural rock pool on the very lip of Victoria Falls, reached from Livingstone Island on the Zambian side. When the river is low, a submerged rock wall holds swimmers back from the 108-metre drop.
When it is open
Usually from about mid-August to January, depending on the water. Outside those months, guides take visitors to the nearby Angel's Pool or simply to the island.
How to do it safely
Go only with the licensed island tour, follow your guide's instructions exactly and never swim at the lip on your own. Tours are small and book out in peak season.
Why the pool exists
Over thousands of years the Zambezi has eroded small hollows into the basalt at the lip of the falls. One of them, close to Livingstone Island, is protected on its downstream side by a lip of rock just below the surface. When the river is low, that lip stops the current, leaving a pool with calm water right at the edge of the 108-metre drop. When the river is high, the whole area is under a torrent.
How a tour works
Tours leave from a lodge on the Zambian bank and cross to Livingstone Island by boat. Guides lead small groups over the rocks and through a short swim across a slow channel to the pool. You enter the water, swim to the lip and, holding on where the guides show you, look over the edge. A guide stays at the lip throughout and takes photographs. Afterwards most tours serve a meal or tea on the island.
Who should not go
People who are not comfortable swimming in open water, are unsteady on wet rock or have a medical condition that makes cold water or exertion risky should choose the island visit without the swim. Operators also set minimum ages and may stop the swim on any day when conditions change. Listen to them: they see the river every day.
Angel's Pool and other alternatives
When the water is a little higher, at the beginning and end of the season, guides sometimes use Angel's Pool, a calmer hollow nearby. Outside the season, the island visit still lets you stand where Livingstone first saw the falls. Other ways to get close to the water include the Knife-Edge Bridge, the walk down to the Boiling Pot and a helicopter flight over the lip.
Booking
Tours are limited to small numbers and sell out early in the peak months of August to October. Book as soon as your dates are fixed. Our Devil's Pool guide covers what to bring, and our Zambia or Zimbabwe guide explains how to fit it into a stay on both sides of Victoria Falls.
