Victoria Falls is the number one destination for most visitors to Zimbabwe (or indeed Southern Africa) and must surely be one of the most memorable sights in the world. The Zambezi River expands to an incredible width of over a mile before thundering 100 metres down a sheer chasm and into turbulent white waters. Before reaching the falls, the river is a peaceful place with palm-dotted islands scattered throughout the water. The area around the falls is rainforest fed by the constant spray from the falls. Rainbows can be seen from all angles. Viewing of the falls is done from within the Victoria Falls National Park where you can see antelope, vervet monkey, warthog and banded mongoose living amid the spray. Beyond the falls, the river winds its way down the gorge and provides some of the best white water rafting in the world. Finally, it flows under the Victoria Falls Bridge and between the borders of Zimbabwe and Zambia towards Lake Kariba.

Other Attractions - The town of Victoria Falls is only a few minutes walk from the falls and is the tourist hub for a huge range of activities covering both general tourism and the adrenalin adventure seekers. The town has many craft and African art shops. Many of these are rather cheap and tacky but there is also some good quality stuff in places like the Motombo Gallery or some of the longer established shops. This is a tourist mecca and you will inevitably be approached by money-changers or people trying to sell drinks or souvenirs. However, its not oppressive and they can quite easily be ignored - there are many places around the world that are much much worse.

At the other end of the falls, the Zambezi Drive leads you along the river before turning inland and heading for the Zambezi National Park. The park runs along the river for over 40 km and contains a wide range of Zimbabwe's wildlife. One of the sights here is known as the 'Big Tree' which is actually a huge old baobab tree situated where early pioneers made camp before crossing the river. One creature you are quite likely to see in this area (and around the falls) is the Banded Mongoose which are rather cute little beasts usually seen in large groups foraging through the undergrowth.

The Victoria Falls Hotel has been the place to stay when visiting the falls since it was first built in 1905 and remains a special place to this day. This is a grand building steeped in bygone elegance - but it was not always so. The hotel was originally a wooden construction with many verandahs and a corrugated tin roof. Rickshaws were used to transport visitors to the falls before this became outdated and hand-worked rail trollies were introduced. The hotel was rebuilt in brick in 1913 and today's visitors must walk the short distance to the falls.