Straddling the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia, Victoria Falls is the largest sheet of falling water on Earth — a mile-wide curtain of the Zambezi River plunging into the Batoka Gorge with a roar the local Kololo people named "Mosi-oa-Tunya," the Smoke That Thunders. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Falls generate a permanent cloud of mist visible for miles, feeding a rare rainforest microclimate on the cliffs opposite the cascade and painting rainbows — and, on clear moonlit nights, lunar rainbows — across the gorge.
Beyond the Falls themselves, the town of Victoria Falls has grown into Southern Africa's premier adventure and safari hub, ringed by Zambezi National Park and within easy reach of Hwange National Park, one of Africa's great elephant sanctuaries. It is a destination best arrived at slowly, and few arrivals rival the drama of stepping off the Pride of Africa, Rovos Rail's celebrated luxury train, after days of watching the bushveld, escarpments and wide-open plains of South Africa and Zimbabwe roll past a private balcony.
Rovos Rail's four-day journey from Pretoria threads through Bulawayo and the game-rich woodlands of Hwange National Park before terminating at Victoria Falls Station, delivering guests directly into one of the world's great natural spectacles in a manner as unhurried and elegant as the destination deserves.
- ✦One of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World
- ✦UNESCO World Heritage waterfall on the Zambezi River
- ✦Arrive aboard Rovos Rail's Pride of Africa
- ✦Game drive through Hwange National Park en route
- ✦Historic 1905 Victoria Falls Bridge
- ✦Zambezi River sundowner cruises and white-water rafting
- ✦Gateway to Southern African safari country
Places to See in Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls (Mosi-oa-Tunya)
The main event: a 1,708-metre-wide curtain of water dropping roughly 100 metres into the Zambezi Gorge. Walking trails on the Zimbabwean side offer more than a dozen viewpoints, including the aptly named Knife-Edge Bridge and Danger Point, where the spray drenches visitors year-round.
Victoria Falls Bridge
Completed in 1905 as part of Cecil Rhodes's Cape-to-Cairo railway vision, this dramatic steel arch bridge spans the gorge directly beside the Falls, linking Zimbabwe and Zambia and offering one of the most photographed views of the cascade — plus the option of a bungee jump or gorge swing for the adventurous.
Victoria Falls Rainforest
The permanent spray from the Falls sustains a pocket rainforest of ebony, fig and mahogany trees found nowhere else in the surrounding dry savanna — a lush, dripping contrast to the bushveld the Pride of Africa crosses en route.
Zambezi National Park
Upstream of the Falls, this park protects riverine forest and grassland along the Zambezi, home to elephant, buffalo, giraffe and occasional lion — easily combined with a game drive or a sundowner cruise on the river itself.
Hwange National Park
Zimbabwe's largest game reserve, and a scheduled stop on the Rovos Rail itinerary, Hwange shelters one of Africa's largest elephant populations alongside lion, buffalo, giraffe and endangered African wild dog across its waterhole-studded woodland and grassland.
Victoria Falls Bridge Historic Tour & Livingstone statue
Guided tours explain the bridge's engineering history, while a statue of explorer David Livingstone — the first European to document the Falls, in 1855 — stands near the Zimbabwean entrance to the site.
Zambezi River activities
Above the Falls, sunset cruises glide past hippos and crocodiles; below the gorge, the Zambezi's rapids rank among the world's best for white-water rafting.
Victoria Falls Town
A relaxed safari town of curio markets, open-air lounges and colonial-era hotels, including the historic Victoria Falls Hotel, built in 1904 to house passengers on Rhodes's railway — the same rail heritage the Pride of Africa continues today.
Food & Gastronomy
Zimbabwean cuisine reflects the country's farming and river traditions, and Victoria Falls's restaurants — many overlooking the Zambezi's gorges or grazing wildlife — pair local staples with game meats and river fish.
- Sadza — the Zimbabwean staple, a firm maize porridge served alongside relishes, stews and grilled meats; the everyday foundation of the local table.
- Nyama (grilled game meats) — Victoria Falls's restaurants are known for open-fire grills of beef, warthog, kudu, crocodile and even ostrich, often served with sadza and a peanut-based stew called dovi.
- Bream and tiger fish — freshly caught from the Zambezi, pan-fried or grilled, and a staple on riverside menus.
- Muriwo unedovi — leafy greens (typically rape or collard) cooked in a rich peanut-butter sauce, a classic Zimbabwean side dish.
- Mopane worms — a traditional, protein-rich delicacy, dried or stewed, offered as an adventurous local specialty in some restaurants.
- Zambezi Lager and sundowner cocktails — Zimbabwe's popular local beer, best enjoyed at a riverside sundowner spot as the sun sets over the Zambezi.
Onboard, the Pride of Africa's dining cars keep pace with the destination: white-tablecloth, multi-course dinners with South African and regional wines are served as the train crosses the bushveld, so the journey to Victoria Falls is itself a gastronomic occasion before guests ever set foot in town.
