Zambia & Zimbabwe
Victoria Falls
The widest single sheet of falling water on Earth, shared by Zambia and Zimbabwe, and the anchor of any southern African safari.
The Atlas
Waterfalls in Africa
Twenty-three great waterfalls in Africa, from Victoria Falls and Murchison Falls to the hidden drops of Kalambo, Kalandula and Epupa, with heights, seasons and the safaris that go with them.
Waterfalls in Africa are rarely alone. Most stand inside or beside national parks, so a waterfall in Africa is usually the start of a safari, not the end of one. This atlas maps the falls we know and plan journeys to; tap a pin or a country to explore.
Heights are approximate: sources differ, and many falls are measured in tiers. For water levels month by month, see When to Go.
Browse all 23 waterfalls
Uganda
Murchison Falls
The whole of the Nile forced through a cleft seven metres wide: the most powerful waterfall in Africa, set inside Uganda's largest national park.
DR Congo
Boyoma Falls
Seven cataracts over a hundred kilometres of the Congo: the greatest waterfall on Earth by volume.
South Africa
Tugela Falls
Often ranked the second-highest waterfall in the world, falling in five leaps from the rim of the Drakensberg.
Ethiopia
Blue Nile Falls
Ethiopia's "great smoke", a few hours from the island monasteries of Lake Tana and the cliffs of the Simien Mountains.
Uganda
Sipi Falls
Three waterfalls stacked on the green shoulder of an extinct volcano, linked by a day's walk through Bugisu coffee gardens.
Zambia & Tanzania
Kalambo Falls
One of the tallest uninterrupted waterfalls in Africa, hiding one of the world's oldest wooden structures at its foot.
Namibia & Angola
Epupa Falls
A palm-fringed staircase of falls in the far north-west of Namibia, in the homeland of the Himba.
Angola
Kalandula Falls
One of Africa's largest waterfalls by volume, and still largely unknown outside Angola.
Lesotho
Maletsunyane Falls
A single, 192-metre drop into a basalt amphitheatre in the mountain kingdom of Lesotho.
Morocco
Ouzoud Falls
North Africa's tallest waterfall, with olive groves above and Barbary macaques in the trees.
Zimbabwe
Mutarazi Falls
A ribbon of water falling more than 700 metres into the Honde Valley, now with a skywalk on the cliff.
South Africa
Augrabies Falls
The Orange River throws itself into a granite gorge in the middle of the Northern Cape desert.
Zambia
Lumangwe Falls
A broad curtain on the Kalungwishi River that looks like a scale model of Victoria Falls, with no one else there.
Zambia
Ngonye Falls
The upper Zambezi breaks across a crescent of Kalahari sandstone in Zambia's quiet west.
Kenya
Thomson's Falls
A highland waterfall almost on the Equator, on the road between the Aberdares and the Rift Valley lakes.
Ghana
Wli Falls
Ghana's highest waterfall, home to a colony of thousands of fruit bats.
Cameroon
Lobé Falls
One of very few waterfalls in the world that falls directly into the ocean.
Burundi
Karera Falls
Four falls in a forested valley in Burundi, a short drive from the southernmost source of the Nile.
Uganda
Kisiizi Falls
A quiet waterfall in Uganda's south-western hills, close to the gorillas of Bwindi.
Tanzania
Materuni Falls
A tall forest waterfall above Moshi, reached through Chagga coffee farms.
Rwanda & Tanzania
Rusumo Falls
Brown water and a border bridge on the Kagera, the Nile's longest headstream.
South Africa
Howick Falls
A 95-metre fall in the middle of a Midlands town, painted and photographed since the 1800s.
Africa's waterfalls compared
| Best time | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Augrabies Falls | South Africa | Orange (Gariep) | about 56 m | Gorge plunge | December–April, after summer rain upstream |
| Blue Nile Falls | Ethiopia | Blue Nile (Abay) | 37–45 m | Segmented curtain | August–November, after the main rains |
| Boyoma Falls | DR Congo | Lualaba (upper Congo) | about 60 m over 100 km | Seven cataracts | September–December |
| Epupa Falls | Namibia & Angola | Kunene | about 37 m (main drop) | Cascades | February–May, when the Kunene is high |
| Howick Falls | South Africa | uMngeni | about 95 m | Plunge | November–March |
| Kalambo Falls | Zambia & Tanzania | Kalambo River | about 221–235 m single drop | Plunge | March–June, after the rains |
| Kalandula Falls | Angola | Lucala | about 105 m | Curtain | February–May, at the end of the rains |
| Karera Falls | Burundi | Karera | about 80 m over several falls | Tiered | October–April |
| Kisiizi Falls | Uganda | Rushoma | about 30 m | Plunge | March–May and September–November |
| Lobé Falls | Cameroon | Lobé | about 20 m | Cascades into the sea | July–October |
| Lumangwe Falls | Zambia | Kalungwishi | about 35 m | Curtain | March–June |
| Maletsunyane Falls | Lesotho | Maletsunyane | about 192 m | Plunge | November–March |
| Materuni Falls | Tanzania | Mnambe | about 80–90 m | Plunge | June–October (dry trails) |
| Murchison Falls | Uganda | Victoria Nile | 43 m | Gorge chute | Year-round flow |
| Mutarazi Falls | Zimbabwe | Mutarazi | about 762 m in two tiers | Tiered | December–April |
| Ngonye Falls | Zambia | Zambezi | about 25 m | Horseshoe cascades | May–August, as the Zambezi falls after the flood |
| Ouzoud Falls | Morocco | Wadi el-Abid tributary | about 110 m | Tiered | March–May, after winter rain and snowmelt |
| Rusumo Falls | Rwanda & Tanzania | Kagera | about 15 m | Rapids and falls | March–May and October–December |
| Sipi Falls | Uganda | Sipi River | about 100 m (highest of three) | Plunge, three tiers | April–May and August–November for full falls |
| Thomson's Falls | Kenya | Ewaso Ng'iro | about 74 m | Plunge | April–June and November |
| Tugela Falls | South Africa | Tugela (Thukela) River | about 948 m in five leaps | Tiered | November–March, the summer rains |
| Victoria Falls | Zambia & Zimbabwe | Zambezi | 108 m | Curtain (plunge) | March–July for thundering water |
| Wli Falls | Ghana | Agumatsa | about 80 m (upper falls) | Tiered | May–October, the rainy season |
Frequently asked questions
What is the most famous waterfall in Africa?
Victoria Falls on the Zambezi, shared by Zambia and Zimbabwe, is the best known and the widest single curtain of falling water in the world. See our Victoria Falls guide.
What is the highest waterfall in Africa?
Tugela Falls in South Africa, at about 948 metres in five leaps, is usually listed as the highest; read why the numbers disagree.
When is the best time to visit African waterfalls?
It depends on the fall. Most peak after their local rains; Victoria Falls is fullest from March to July. Our month-by-month calendar covers every fall in this atlas.
Can I combine a waterfall trip with a safari?
Yes, that is what we do best. Victoria Falls pairs with Chobe and Hwange, Murchison Falls is itself a Big Five park, and most falls are a few hours from a national park. See our safari itineraries.
Enquire for more information
Plan your waterfall safari with a specialist
Tell us which falls you would love to see and when you can travel. We will reply with ideas, the best dates for the water and a quote for your trip.
- Tailor-made itineraries
- Timed for the water
- 23 waterfalls, 17 countries
- Honest seasonal advice
Prefer email? dusk2dawn.explorers@gmail.com · Call +256 709 780 625