Once a myth takes route, it can be difficult to shake!
Before you visit Victoria Falls, you’ll probably do a little research, and most of what you find will be accurate. But, with that said, a handful of ideas about this place have been repeated so often that they’ve taken on the authority of fact, even when they aren’t quite right…
Here are six of the most common misconceptions – and the Victoria Falls facts that sit behind them. Hopefully we’ll answer a few extra questions you might have about our beautiful town along the way.
1. It’s Too Remote to Reach Easily
It’s true that the African continent – and even Zimbabwe itself – has many wild frontiers, but Victoria Falls town is entirely accessible. With its own international airport, less than 20 minutes from the town centre (and from Ilala Lodge Hotel), getting to us is a piece of cake.
Direct or single connection flights link our airport to Johannesburg, Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Lusaka and Harare, among other hubs.
After you land, Ilala Lodge Hotel offers hotel transfers to collect you directly from the airport and bring you directly to us. Our shuttles can also take you anywhere you might like to go in town during your stay, including our beautiful sister property, Palm River Hotel.
Victoria Falls is compact and safe, making it relatively walkable, too, depending on where you’d like to go and what you’d like to do.
All of this to say: We may be on the fringe of some spectacular and wild scenery, but we are not so remote as to make your travels a mission.
2. You Should Only Visit in Peak Season
This is one of those Victoria Falls facts worth sitting with: there is no bad time to visit. There is only a different experience depending on when you come.
The dry months from May to October bring clear skies, lower water levels in the gorge, and excellent game viewing as wildlife gathers around the Zambezi. The wetter months from November to April transform the Falls themselves and the volume of water increases dramatically, with spray visible from kilometres away.
Visit around the full moon between March and June and you may even witness a moonbow! (A rainbow formed by moonlight, not sunlight, passing through the Falls’ mist.) It is one of the quieter Victoria Falls facts, and one of the most extraordinary things you can see here.
The question isn’t about peak season or off season; it’s what you’d like to see when you join us.
To help you make up your mind, check out this blog post: The Best Time to Visit Victoria Falls
3. David Livingstone Discovered the Falls
Arriving on 16 November 1855, David Livingstone was the first European to describe Victoria Falls, naming it after the United Kingdom’s then-monarch, Queen Victoria. This is true enough, but the word “discover” is misleading.
In fact, the Kalolo-Lozi people knew these falls for generations before Livingstone arrived. They called them Mosi-oa-Tunya – the Smoke That Thunders – a name that has endured alongside the colonial one and is still widely used today. The falls Livingstone ‘discovered’ had a name, a history, and a people who had lived alongside them long before his canoes rounded that last bend in the Zambezi.
4. Victoria Falls Is the Tallest Waterfall in the World
It isn’t. Angel Falls in Venezuela holds that record, at 979 metres. Victoria Falls drops approximately 108 metres; impressive by any measure, but not the tallest.
What Victoria Falls does hold is an arguably more striking title: it is the largest sheet of falling water in the world. At peak flow, the Zambezi stretches approximately 1 708 metres across the Falls, and the combined width and height create a curtain of water that no other waterfall can match.
Tallest? No. Largest? Yes.
5. Victoria Falls Is Only for Adrenaline Seekers
Victoria Falls town may be known as the Adventure Capital of Africa, but don’t be too quick to peg it as a one trick pony. Yes, there is bungee jumping, white-water rafting, gorge swinging, zip lining and numerous other thrilling activities, but they are one layer of what Victoria Falls offers.
For travellers seeking something more settled, cultural or relaxing, there is also the rainforest walk along the Cliff Path, where the sound of the crashing water fills the air and spray from the water drenches you all the way through. There are game drives into Zambezi National Park, where elephants and buffalo move through the bush. There are sunset cruises on the upper Zambezi, where the light changes slowly and the pace drops entirely. There are also restaurants, cultural experiences, markets and, of course, long afternoons beside our hotel’s pool – whatever your heart desires.
Victoria Falls is a place where people with very different ideas of a good day can all find what they’re looking for. The adventure activities draw the headlines, but they don’t define the whole experience.
6. You Need to Cross Into Zambia for the Best View
This one depends heavily on the time of year and what you mean by ‘best.’
During the high-water months, the Zambian side offers views into areas that may be obscured by spray on the Zimbabwean side. But for much of the year, and particularly during the drier months, the Zimbabwean viewpoints along the Cliff Path provide a broader, more varied perspective, including the famous Main Falls, the Devil’s Cataract and the Eastern Cataract.
A full appreciation of the Falls benefits from both sides, if you have the time, and luckily, crossing the border into Zambia is a quick and painless process. But for those staying in Victoria Falls town, the Zimbabwean viewpoints are not a compromise.
Stay With Us
Ilala Lodge Hotel is 5 to 10 minutes away from Victoria Falls National Park on foot and on the very edge of Zambezi National Park. We are the closest hotel to Victoria Falls and incredibly proud of that fact.
This means our guests are well placed for the falls, the wildlife, and everything in between. Browse our rooms, or contact our reservations team at onlinereservations@ilalalodge.com to plan your stay.
You’re also welcome to book directly on our website.
Buck the myths and join us next to one of the world’s great natural wonders!
