Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe

Today I want to share my guide to visiting Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe with you. Right on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, these falls on the Zambezi River are some of the most famous waterfalls in the world. It’s worth a special trip to southern Africa to see them.

There’s no water at Victoria Falls. At least that’s what my safari guide in Zambia tells me. I laugh at what I think is his joke, but he doesn’t crack a smile.

“Really,” he insists, “there is no water. The rains failed last year, and they haven’t started this year, so the falls are dry.”

I pause, skeptical. He’s probably exaggerating, or at least saying this from the perspective of someone who’s seen the falls many times. I don’t worry too much about it. Yet.

I’ve wanted to see Victoria Falls for a long time. Ever since I visited their South American counterpart, Iguazu Falls, I’ve had a desire to travel to Africa to see them.

Like Iguazu, Victoria Falls lie on the border of two countries. After hearing that the view is better from Zimbabwe, I decide to see them from there.

Victoria Falls Town

After a great safari in Victoria Falls‘ back yard, my friend and I drive into town, passing restaurants and shops, tour operators and activity offices.

Eventually we make our way to the Victoria Falls Hotel, a large luxury hotel in town with a direct path to the falls.

We walk along the path, passing baboons and buffalo, and suddenly find ourselves in a clearing. In front of us is a viewing platform from which we can see a giant bend in the river at the bottom of a dramatic canyon.

Ahead of us are zip lines for the braver-than-I souls that want to partake in adventure travel in Victoria Falls. Given my fear of heights, I stick to the platform, admiring the sheer drop from a distance.

Visiting Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe

Continuing along the path, we reach the entrance to the falls. It’s right next to the border crossing, and we see many people coming over on foot from the Zambia side, picking up a visa along the way.

We pass by the souvenir stalls, pay our fee, and enter the visitor center. There are photos of the falls at high water and low, information about local flora and fauna, and a small cafe and shop.

A display of animal skulls sets us on the path to the falls, which we can already hear in the distance.

We walk in the dust among the bone-dry trees, wondering how such desert-like conditions can exist next to one of the world’s largest waterfalls. Maybe the guide from my Zambia safari was right after all.

But soon the green appears, and we find ourselves in a tropical rainforest full of flowers and monkeys. The roar of Victoria Falls gets louder, and suddenly we’re face-to-face with the famous Devil’s Cataract.

As the furious white water rushes over the edge and down into the river, our eyes move across the cliff. The falls line the opposite side of the narrow canyon, spraying mist on us from a distance.

They’re beautiful and awe-inspiring, and I find myself smiling as I see that the falls have water after all.

But not all of them. Just as my guide tried to tell me, there’s an entire rock cliff on the Zambia side with no water flowing down it.

Two thin trickles a hundred meters apart are all that serve to suggest this stretch of shelf might sometimes be foaming with falls.

My friend has been to Victoria Falls before, and his jaw drops when he sees how dry it is. He can’t quite believe it. Neither can I, and I was warned.

But the parched cliff doesn’t dampen our enthusiasm. We walk back along the path into the rainforest, cooling off in the mist away from the sweltering summer sun.

We spot people swimming in Devil’s Pool right on the edge of the falls, an activity that can only be done in the dry season when the water moves slowly enough that it won’t wash them over the edge.

My stomach gives a nervous squeeze just thinking about it, but my friend is enthusiastic.

He tries to persuade me to go when we get back to the Zambia side of Victoria Falls, but I conjure every (irrational) excuse not to, from hungry crocodiles to the exceedingly rare but very (un)real river tsunami.

I would rather go whitewater rafting than swimming. I might even conquer my fear of heights and helicopters, and take a scenic flight just to avoid (un)sure death by waterfall in the pool.

Lunch by the Falls

In the end, we stay on land and out of water and air, eventually walking back to the Victoria Falls Hotel for lunch on the terrace.

My sandwich and water cost a total of US$18, the same price as a year of school for the children in the village I visited yesterday. It seems a bit surreal, but such are the contrasts in a region with such a high Gini coefficient.

After lunch, we get back into the car, driving across the bridge and border en route to our next destination: two secluded islands in the mighty Zambezi River.