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Victoria Falls
Vicotia Falls is one of the seven wonders of the worlds. Victory has widest curtain of falling water on earth. Victoria fall has been considered as UNESCO world heritage. One of the Natural Wonders of the World, the famous Victoria Falls are the biggest falling curtain of water in the world. Created by volcanic activity, erosion and the course of the mighty Zambezi River, the spectacular Victoria Falls has captured the hearts, minds and spirits of people everywhere. The Victoria Falls are shared by both Zambia and Zimbabwe and are territorially divided by Cecil Rhodes' famous bridge - which he never lived to see. As well as a spectacular view down into the gorge, this bridge has more recently become famous for its adrenaline-pumping bungi jump with a fall of 364 feet (111 meters)! The other most popular adventure pursuit here is white-water rafting on the Zambezi. |
Victoria Falls, affectionately abbreviated to Vic Falls by anyone who’s been there, is one of the world’s greatest natural spectacles. Declared a World Heritage Site, the falls – and much of the town of the same name – fall within a 23.4km(sup)2(/sup) national park, which neighbours the 573km(sup)2(/sup) Zambezi National Park.
The falls are the stuff of legends, romance and myth. Long before the Scottish missionary and explorer, Dr David Livingstone ‘discovered’ the falls on November 16, 1855, the local Batonga people had named them Mosi-Oa-Tunya, “the smoke that thunders”. The more prosaic Livingstone named them for his queen, but departed from his normal, pedestrian writing to observe in his diary that “scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight.”
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| Victoria falls History |
The Victoria Falls constitutes one of the most spectacular natural wonders of the world. The Local people call it "Mosi-oa-Tunya" -- the smoke that thunders and the Falls are remarkable. There is a magic about them manifested in the towering column of spray when the river is high, the thunder of the falling water, the terrifying abyss and tranquil lagoons upstream in which hippo and deadly crocodiles lurk.
The Victoria falls is 1 708 meters wide, making it the largest curtain of water in the world. It drops between 90m and 107m into the Zambezi Gorge and an average of 550,000 cubic metres of water plummet over the edge every minute.
Remarkably preserved in its natural state, Victoria falls inspires visitors as much today as it did David Livingstone in the 1860's. The falls and the surrounding area have been declared National Parks and a World Heritage Site, thus preserving the area from excessive commercialisation. The Falls are spectacular throughout the year, but February onwards, after the rain season, has the heaviest flow and volume of spray.
A number of activities can be undertaken. The 'Flight of Angels' provides a fabulous vista of the falls, the upstream river and its many islands and for the more adventurous there is microlighting with stunning views of the Fall.
Rafting the wild rapids below the Falls is a very popular adventure. Visitors can also kayak, canoe, fish, go on guided walking safaris, ride on horseback and lunch on Livingstone's Island.
Floating above the falls in a tandem microlight is perhaps the ultimate way to see what Livingstone’s angels saw, but for the less adventurous, there are regular helicopter and light aircraft flights for a similar perspective. Sublime sundowner cruises on the broad sweep of Zambezi River upstream of the falls while sipping a Zambezi Lager, are an exquisite way to experience an African sunset, while the more energetic can hire canoes for gentle, guided paddling trips – steering well clear of the sweep of current leading over the lip of the falls (and the many pods of hippopotami).
But perhaps best of all is the constant lure of the falls. A network of trails leads through the rainforest surrounding the smoke that thunders. Hire an umbrella and raincoat, and happily spend a day or longer simply gazing at the incredible vistas of one of the natural wonders of the world. When the river is at its lowest, as few as 20,000 cubic metres per minute flow over the lip of the falls, but when the mighty Zambezi is raging in April and May, as many as 500,000 cubic metres a minute smash down into the Devil’s Cataract below, and then power their way through the Batoka Gorge.
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Discovery of Sahara Desert
The town of Victoria Falls grew from the demands of tourists, providing hotels and restaurants to visitors heading to the falls and the nearby national parks. David Livingstone’s fantastic stories about the falls attracted many European adventurers and travellers to this once remote place. It resembled an American frontier town in the late 19th century, with bars, stores and gambling dens. Despite an outbreak of malaria and blackwater fever that briefly turned Victoria Falls into a ghost town, the town continued to grow through the 20th century.
The bridge across the gorge was built as part of Cecil John Rhodes's ambitious, but never realised, Cape to Cairo railway in 1902. Though its name is Victorian, the town boasts some fine examples of Edwardian architecture, including the elegant Victoria Falls Hotel, built in 1905, with its decidedly colonial air, and the Victoria Falls Station, where the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls train arrives.
Victoria Falls has dozens of viewpoints that are reached by paths through the rainforest, which grows in the area of the spray.
This volume of water is greatest in April and May though photographers get better pictures, and keep their cameras dry when the river is less full.
Victoria Falls is a one-hour hop by air from Harare, and less than an hour from Bulawayo.
The local people who led David Livingstone to this magical place in 1855 call it "Mosi-oa-Tanya". The Smoke That Thunders can be seen 70km away. "Scenes so lovely, must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight," said David Livingstone.
It has become the premier adventure resort of Southern Africa with adventurers coming from all over the world to experience the white water rafting classified as the best waterfall in the world, rafts break their way through rapids graded as high as 5 (6beingum - navigable) through the deep gorges of the mighty Zambezi River.
Visitors can fly over the falls in a variety of aircrafts including helicopters and micro light or do bungee jumping from the bridge above the gorge.
The Victoria Falls is situated in Southern Africa - on the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia - and occurs where the powerful Zambezi River plunges down a series of basalt gorges in a breathtaking display of several waterfalls. Mist from the waterfalls can be seen more than 20 kilometres away and the thundering roar can be heard long before the falls can be seen.
- When the river is in flood, the falls are the largest curtain of falling water in the world
- Between 20 000 and 500 000 cubic metres of water a minute crash into the Batoka Gorge
- Consists of seven waterfalls
- The spray from the thundering water is partly responsible for sustaining the "rainforest" opposite the falls
- The falls and town are situated in a 23,4km² national park
- There are six national monuments within the park, including the falls
- Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park (in Zambia), together with Victoria Falls National Park (in Zimbabwe) were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1989.
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| Important Facts Victoria Falls |
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- Victoria Falls will be one of the few places on earth where a total eclipse can be seen on 4 December 2002
- The path of totality (from which a total eclipse of the sun will be visible) crosses Southern Africa,
the Indian Ocean and Australia
- The total eclipse will last no more than two minutes and four seconds
- Those in areas within the moon's penumbral shadow - but which fall outside the narrow path of
totality - will still see a partial eclipse
- The penumbra will be 6900km in diameter
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| Getting There
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There are connections by air from Harare, Kariba, and Bulawayo, and international flights from Johannesburg and London.
Every morning the train arrives from Bulawayo after an overnight ride. The train has sleeping compartments and a restaurant car and is often delayed because of elephants on the line.
This used to be a romantic way of arriving at Victoria Falls but the service has been disrupted because of lack of Diesel petrol in recent years.
There are a number of mainline coach services to other cities in the country and a weekly coach to Cape Town that gets you there three days later. Unfortunately, South African car hire companies no longer permit you to drive a car to Zimbabwe. If you are travelling overland you will undoubtedly pass over Victoria Falls Bridge where the border with Zambia is open from 06:00-20:00. |
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