Eco-Friendly Hotels in Livingstone — Your 2026 Guide to Sustainable Stays

Victoria Falls — Mosi-oa-Tunya UNESCO World Heritage Site

Victoria Falls is one of the seven natural wonders of the world and one of UNESCO's dual World Heritage Sites (shared between Zambia and Zimbabwe since 1989). At 108 metres high and 1,708 metres wide, it produces the largest sheet of falling water on Earth — not the highest (Angel Falls in Venezuela is 979 m) nor the widest (Khone Falls in Laos is 10,783 m), but nowhere else do height and width combine to create such an overwhelming volume of water in free fall. The gorge into which the Zambezi thunders forms a zigzag of five basalt canyons, each carved along a line of weakness in the ancient rock over millions of years.

The Zambian side of the falls (accessible via the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park entrance 10 km south of Livingstone) provides access to the full eastern cataract, Knife-Edge Bridge and the most dramatic spray. In the high-water season (February to May), the volume of water is so great that the spray plume rises 400 metres and is visible 50 km away — but visibility of the falls themselves is often obscured by the mist. The low-water season (September to December) reveals more of the geological structure and allows access to Devil's Pool on Livingstone Island.

Livingstone Island, reached by boat from the Royal Chundu or Tongabezi lodges, was where Scottish explorer David Livingstone became the first European to see the falls in November 1855 — describing them as "scenes so lovely they must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight." The island's precarious location at the falls' lip and the extraordinary experience of swimming in Devil's Pool above a 108-metre drop make it one of Africa's most memorable extreme encounters.

Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park — White Rhino and Elephant

Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park, adjacent to the falls on the Zambian side, protects one of Zambia's few remaining white rhino populations. After the species was locally extinct for decades, white rhinos were reintroduced in 1993 and are now carefully managed by African Parks and the Zambian Wildlife Authority. A small herd of approximately 30 animals roams the park's 66 km², accompanied by armed rangers 24/7 — tracking and observing them on foot is a remarkable and intimate wildlife encounter. Elephant herds frequently walk through the park and are often seen from the main road between Livingstone town and the falls entrance.

The Zambezi River frontage of the park is prime hippo territory — pods of 20–30 hippos occupy the same pools year-round. Crocodiles are abundant but rarely visible from shore. The birdlife along the riverine forest is exceptional: African fish eagles, carmine bee-eaters (colonial nesters in the cliff faces above the river), Pel's fishing owls and the extraordinary Livingstone's flycatcher found only in this narrow Zambezi corridor.

Adventure Activities and Day Trips from Livingstone

Livingstone is widely recognised as Africa's adventure capital. White-water rafting on the Zambezi below the falls runs through 23 named rapids in a full-day Grade 5 experience — the highest commercially rafted difficulty class in the world. The river cuts through six basalt gorges below the falls over 24 km of rafting, with the first rapid (Boiling Pot) beginning directly below the Victoria Falls Bridge. Multiple operators (Bundu Adventures, Safari Par Excellence) run daily departures with safety kayakers and guides, suitable for fit adults with no prior experience.

Bungee jumping from the Victoria Falls Bridge (111 metres over the Zambezi gorge, on the Zambia-Zimbabwe border) is one of the world's highest commercial bungee jumps. The bridge itself is a 1905 colonial engineering feat — designed to be just close enough to the falls to catch the spray, but far enough to avoid the worst of the mist during high-water season. Bridge walks and zipline slides across the gorge are available for those who prefer less adrenaline.

Sunset Zambezi cruises, departing from the Waterfront 5 km upstream of the falls, provide the most relaxed wildlife experience: hippos surfacing alongside the boat, elephants drinking at dusk, fish eagles diving and the great Falls thunder audible in the distance. Most cruises include unlimited drinks and are genuinely excellent value. For more active exploration, Livingstone offers horse-riding in the bush alongside elephant and giraffe, microlight flights over the falls, and birdwatching walks along the Maramba River.

Chobe National Park in Botswana (50 km south, 1 hour drive) has the highest elephant density on Earth — approximately 120,000 animals in and around the park. A full-day trip combining a morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise on the Chobe River (where elephants swim between islands and hippos bask in groups of 100+) is consistently rated among Africa's finest single-day wildlife experiences. Several operators run daily Chobe day trips from Livingstone.

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