Things to Do at Victoria Falls

The best things to do at Victoria Falls range from the gentle, a sunrise walk through the rainforest, to the extreme, a swim at the lip of the falls or a day of white water in the Batoka Gorge. Most can be done from either the Zimbabwe or Zambia side, and many visitors spend two or three days working through them.

Walk the rainforest (Zimbabwe side)

The essential first activity. A path runs along the opposite lip of the chasm past 16 numbered viewpoints, from the Devil's Cataract and Main Falls to Danger Point. Go at opening time for the softest light and the fewest people. Allow two hours.

Explore the Zambian side

Cross to Zambia to walk the Knife-Edge Bridge through the spray, look down at the Eastern Cataract and, if you are fit, take the steep trail to the Boiling Pot at the base of the first gorge. In high water the Knife-Edge Bridge is like walking through a storm.

Swim at Devil's Pool

From about mid-August to the end of the year, guided tours from Livingstone Island take small groups to a natural pool at the very edge of the falls. See our Devil's Pool guide.

Fly over the falls

A 12- to 25-minute helicopter flight shows the whole of the falls, the zig-zag gorges and the Zambezi above, often with elephants and hippos along the river.

Raft the Zambezi

The Batoka Gorge below the falls has some of the best one-day white water in the world, at its best from August to December. See white-water rafting on the Zambezi.

Cruise the upper Zambezi at sunset

Boats leave from both sides in the late afternoon for a quiet two to three hours upstream of the falls, watching for hippos, crocodiles, elephants and birds as the sun sets behind the spray. It is the most relaxed activity at the falls and a good first evening.

Visit the Victoria Falls Bridge

The 1905 bridge between Zambia and Zimbabwe has walkway views straight into the gorge. Operators run guided tours beneath the deck and a bungee jump from the bridge, and gorge swings and zip lines operate nearby.

See the lunar rainbow

On clear nights around the full moon, evening visits to the rainforest show the lunar rainbow in the spray.

Go on safari nearby

Zambezi National Park in Zimbabwe and Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park in Zambia are on the doorstep, and Chobe National Park in Botswana is about an hour away, making a Chobe extension the most popular add-on.

Take afternoon tea with a view

Tea on the terrace of the Victoria Falls Hotel, looking down the gorge to the bridge, is a Victoria Falls tradition even for those staying elsewhere.