The Victoria Falls
Described by the Kololo tribe living in the area in the 1800′s as “Mosi-oa-Tunya” – “the Smoke that Thunders” and in more modern terms as “the greatest known curtain of falling water”, Victoria Falls are a spectacular sight of awe-inspiring beauty and grandeur on the Zambezi River, bordering Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Columns of spray can be seen from miles away as 546 million cubic meters of water per minute plummet over the edge (at the height of the flood season) over a width of nearly two kilometres into a deep gorge over 100 meters below. The wide basalt cliff, over which the falls thunder, transforms the Zambezi from a wide placid river to a ferocious torrent cutting through a series of dramatic gorges.
Facing the Falls is another sheer wall of basalt, rising to the same height and capped by mist-soaked rain forest. A path along the edge of the forest provides the visitor who is prepared to brave the tremendous spray with an unparalleled series of views of the Falls. One special vantage point is across the Knife Edge Bridge, where visitors can have the finest view of the Eastern Cataract and the Main Falls as well as the Boiling Pot where the river turns and heads down the Batoka Gorge. Other vantage points include the falls bridge and the Lookout Tree that commands a panoramic view across the main Falls.
Other Waterfalls
The Kalambo Falls are the second most significant waterfalls in Zambia. Located on the Kalambo River some 33 kilometers to the north-west of Mbala town in northern Zambia, the Kalambo Falls are nearly twice as high as the Victoria Falls and are the second highest uninterrupted falls on the African continent at 235 meters high.
Others are Ntumbachushi Falls in Luapula province, Lumangwe Falls, Ngonye Falls on the Zambezi, Chipempe Falls and the Chishimba Falls located in northern Zambia.
