What's on in Livingstone (Victoria Falls), Zambia through the year

Busy — Festive season peak, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Devil's Pool season (15 Aug – 15 Jan (usually)), The rains (15 Nov – 31 Mar (usually)), Festive season peak (18 Dec – 5 Jan (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Nature

  Victoria Falls at full flow

  15 Feb – 30 Jun · usuallyHigh waterRisk

  The Zambezi fills from late February and peaks in April, when the spray soaks you on the footbridge and the falls vanish inside their own cloud. Tremendous noise, very little view.

Still on: The rains (15 Nov – 31 Mar (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Closure

  Rafting shuts at peak flow

  1 Mar – 30 Jun · usually

  The operators pull off the rapids under the falls at high water, roughly March to June, and run a shorter trip from further downstream instead. The full run below the Boiling Pot only comes back as the river drops. Source ↗

• Nature

  Lunar rainbow nights

  1 Mar – 31 Jul · usuallyDark-sky seasonBook early

  On the two or three nights around each full moon while the spray is still high, there is enough moonlight for a moonbow over the gorge, and the park opens after dark for it. Tickets are limited and dated.

Still on: Victoria Falls at full flow (15 Feb – 30 Jun (usually)), The rains (15 Nov – 31 Mar (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Victoria Falls at full flow (15 Feb – 30 Jun (usually)), Rafting shuts at peak flow (1 Mar – 30 Jun (usually)), Lunar rainbow nights (1 Mar – 31 Jul (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Victoria Falls at full flow (15 Feb – 30 Jun (usually)), Rafting shuts at peak flow (1 Mar – 30 Jun (usually)), Lunar rainbow nights (1 Mar – 31 Jul (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in June.

Still on: Victoria Falls at full flow (15 Feb – 30 Jun (usually)), Rafting shuts at peak flow (1 Mar – 30 Jun (usually)), Lunar rainbow nights (1 Mar – 31 Jul (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Lunar rainbow nights (1 Mar – 31 Jul (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Opening

  Devil's Pool season

  15 Aug – 15 Jan · usuallyHigh waterBook early

  The rock pool on the lip of the falls only opens once the river has dropped, usually from the middle of August until the rains put it back under. Livingstone Island closes altogether at high water. Source ↗

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Nature

  The falls run dry

  1 Sep – 31 Dec · usuallyHigh water

  Late in the dry season the Zambian side can thin to bare basalt and the water retreats into the Zimbabwe channels. The worst months for the waterfall itself and the best for everything else on the river.

Still on: Devil's Pool season (15 Aug – 15 Jan (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Devil's Pool season (15 Aug – 15 Jan (usually)), The falls run dry (1 Sep – 31 Dec (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Season

  The rains

  15 Nov – 31 Mar · usuallyMonsoon

  Afternoon storms and green bush. The falls are filling rather than full, the game in Mosi-oa-Tunya spreads out, and the town is at its quietest and cheapest.

Still on: Devil's Pool season (15 Aug – 15 Jan (usually)), The falls run dry (1 Sep – 31 Dec (usually))

Busy — Festive season peak, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Festive season peak

  18 Dec – 5 Jan · usuallyChristmas & New YearCrowdedBook early

  Southern African families take the lodges over the holidays and the activity operators run full. It lands in the same weeks as the low water, so the falls are at their least impressive and the town at its busiest. Source ↗

Still on: Devil's Pool season (15 Aug – 15 Jan (usually)), The falls run dry (1 Sep – 31 Dec (usually)), The rains (15 Nov – 31 Mar (usually))