A to Z of Must-Do Travel Experiences – V for ‘Victoria Falls’
{ Tags: Devil's Pool, Livingstone Island, Mosi-oa-Tunya, Victoria Falls, Zambia, Zimbabwe \ Jul1 }
Although commonly known as Victoria Falls, it also goes by the name Mosi-oa-Tunya, which translates into “the smoke that thunders”. To get a sense of the grandeur of this natural wonder, the falls are twice as high as Niagara Falls, and several times longer. And, while not the highest, nor the widest, Victoria Falls is claimed to be the largest.
The falls can be seen from both Zimbabwe and Zambia, where two-thirds of the waterfall lies. Zambia is also where Livingstone Island is located; it is at this vantage point, where the first European, David Livingstone, first set eyes on the falls. Livingstone Island is also one of two islands on the crest of the falls, large enough to divide the curtain of water at full flood.
One of the spectacular features of the falls is Devil’s Pool, which when the river flow is at a safe level, allows for swimmers to get close to the edge of the falls without continuing over into the gorge below. This is due to a natural wall located just below the water, at the edge of the falls.