Victoria Falls is a town in western Zimbabwe and a gateway to the massive waterfall of the same name. Here, the Zambezi River plummets over a cliff and into the Boiling Pot before flowing through a series of gorges.
Our focus on this website, is primarily around the southern town of Livingstone, with close proximity to the Victoria Falls and Zambezi river’s northern banks.
The town was named after Dr David Livingstone who was the first European to see the mighty Victoria Falls in 1855, and who opened up Central Africa to missionaries, hunters, traders and travelers. The town of Livingston was founded in 1905 and it became the capital of Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) in 1911. In 1935 Lusaka became Zambia’s capital with Livingston retaining its mixture of tourist capital colonial character and African rural charm.
This hub, is located on the border with Zimbabwe, and offers numerous hotels with direct access to the Victoria Falls/ and / or the Zambezi river upstream from the falls. Depending on who you talk to, many prefer Livingstone side of the Victoria Falls for various reasons.
Firstly there is the ease of access from Kruger directly to Livingstone. 1 flight a day, gives you a direct route, from a safari to the falls in an easy 2 hour flight.
Secondly, the feeling you get on the Zambian side of the Victoria Falls, is that you can get much closer to the falls itself by walking through the entrance on the Zambian side. It does offer this thrill, walking through the rain forest, but its view is a side view of the falls.
If you want the wider angle forward facing photo of the entire falls, you can still access this via a short bridge crossing, and a border control, a short tour on the Zimbabwean side.
We have personally been involved in this area in setting up the only Kosher kitchen in the whole of the falls area, with an owner who has also invested in restoring the abandoned Synagogue, in the town of Livingstone. A lovely, caring team, with a great 5 star lodge right on the banks of the Zambezi river. Their freshly caught bream / tilapia fish dishes are one of the signature parev meals for our Kosher guests.
We generally recommend 2 or 3 nights in Victoria Falls, on the Livingstone side. The most common experience is to do a guided walk to the various view sites to see the falls (be sure to take a raincoat, and wear open shoes, as you will often be drenched by the spray, as well as a waterproof cover for your camera/ phone).
For the more adventurous, consider taking a helicopter flight over the falls, and for those wanting to see a magnificent sunset, consider a tranquil sun downer boat cruise on the mighty Zambezi river, and enjoy boat based viewing of pods of hippo, fish eagle, swimming elephants and large swathes of Nile crocodiles.
