Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe & Zambia

9/13 -- 9/16/2026

[Victoria Falls Gallery] [Back to Photo Page]

Victoria Falls is a waterfall on the Zambezi River, located on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. With the combined width of 1,708 meters (5,604 ft) and height of 108 meters (354 ft), it is considered the largest sheet of falling water in the world. David Livingstone was the first European recorded to have viewed the falls on 16 November 1855, from an island now known as Livingstone Island, upstream from the falls near the Zambian shore. Livingstone named his sighting in honor of Queen Victoria, but the Lozi language name the waterfalls Mosi-oa-Tunya, meaning "the smoke that thunders".

The waterfall can be experienced from two distinct national parks across neighboring countries:

Zimbabwe Side (Victoria Falls National Park): Hosts roughly 75% of the viewpoints, including the iconic Devil's Cataract and Main Falls. It features a continuous network of paved walking trails through a dense spray rainforest.
Zambia Side (Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park): Offers a dramatic, close-up look at the Eastern Cataract. Visitors can cross the thrilling Knife Edge Bridge or hike down to the "Boiling Pot" at the base of the gorge.

Getting there ...

We had a morning flight from SFO at 10:15AM on 9/11 (day 0) to EWR (7PM), and from EWR (9:25PM) to Johannesburg (JNB), South Africa, at 6:30PM on 9/12 (day 1). We stayed at an airport hotel at JNB on 9/12 so we could get some rest before our adventure began. I planned our African trip with Discover Africa. This African trip had four parts:

Victoria Falls on both Zimbabwe and Zambia sides (9/13 -- 9/16),
Chobe National Park in Botswana (9/16 -- 9/19),
Xugana in Okavango Delta, Botswana (9/19 -- 9/22),
our self-driving in South Africa (9/22 -- 9/27).

Although we have been to Africa safari trips before (Tanzania in 2011 and Madagascar in 2025), I was still extremely excited about this African trip to see different parts of Africa.

Day 2 (9/13) ...

We flew from Johannesburg (JNB@10AM) to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe (VFA@11:45AM). The immigration process at VIC airport was very easy and quick. We were picked up and taken to our hotel, Insika Lodge, for a late lunch.

Zambezi River Cruise (Zambezi Vista)
At 3:30PM, we went to the Zambezi River Sunset Cruise. It's a relaxed 2.5-hour cruise with 4-course canapé and free premium drinks including cocktails. It also gave us a first glimpse of the wild animals in Africa.

Day 3 (9/14) ...

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
Victoria Falls National Park is the protected reserve on the Zimbabwean side of the Zambezi River that encompasses the world's largest curtain of falling water. The park is highly celebrated because its unique geographical positioning places you directly opposite 75% of the waterfall's face, providing an extensive series of paved canyon-edge viewpoints. The Rainforest Trail (3-km or 1.8-mile round-trip) features 16 numbered viewpoints that guide you safely along the cliff edge for the views of Devil’s Cataract, Main Falls, Rainbow Falls, and the historic Victoria Falls Bridge.

Lookout Cafe
After visiting the waterfalls, we went to the Lookout Cafe perched above the Batoka Gorge to have a nice lunch. We could see some people do bungee jumping or gorge-swinging while we were eating our lunch.

Insika Lodge
We were back to our hotel room at the late afternoon. Woanyu went to do spa treatment and I started to process my photos...

Day 4 (9/15) ...

Victoria Falls Bridge
The Victoria Falls Bridge is a historic steel arch monument spanning the Batoka Gorge, directly linking the town of Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe to Livingstone, Zambia. Completed in 1905, the bridge (198 meters (650 feet) long) sits 111 meters (364 feet) above the churning Zambezi River and serves as a connection between the two countries, carrying cars, trains, and pedestrians. We walked from the Zimbabwe side to Zambia side, and enjoyed views of the gorge and river below.

Victoria Falls, Zambia
The Zambian side of the waterfall is managed under Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park. The Zambian side allows you to get close to the rushing water and walk across the thrilling Knife Edge Bridge. The eastern cataract on Zambian side has not dried up yet (mid-September was the beginning of the dry season) and it still provided good photo opportunities without too much misty spray.

Victoria Falls town, Zimbabwe
After returned to the hotel from the Zambian side, we decided to take the hotel shuttle to the town (stopped at the Elephant's Walk Shopping & Artist's Village) to have a simple Chinese lunch and walked around the town before we took the shuttle back to the hotel.

Day 5 (9/16) ...

Sunrise at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
We decided to visit the Victoria Falls again for the sunrise. We asked the hotel to book a taxi for us at 5:45AM. The park opened at 6AM and the sunrise was at 6:10AM. Since we already knew which viewpoints to go (viewpoints #2, #7, and #8), the timing worked out perfectly for us to enjoy the early morning sunrise and golden hour at the waterfalls.

Next ...

After breakfast, we were picked up at 11AM and transferred across the border into Botswana and onwards to Chobe Game Lodge to start our next part of safari trip in Chobe, Botswana.

[Victoria Falls] [Chobe, Botswana] [Xugana, Botswana] [South Africa]

[Victoria Falls Gallery] [Back to Photo Page]