Our Top 10 Most Spectacular Waterfalls
Originally published 26 October 2010
Get up close and personal with Iguazu Falls.
1 Victoria Falls
Near Livingstone, Zambia
"It had never been seen before by European eyes. Scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight". Such were the words of the great missionary and explorer David Livingstone, in describing his impressions of the Victoria Falls. Known to the locals as "the smoke that thunders", it is one of the true natural wonders of the world.
Find out more about tailor-made holidays to Zambia
2 Iguazú Falls
Puerto Iguazu, Argentina
The border between Brazil and Argentina is home to one of the world’s greatest natural phenomena. In the midst of a subtropical nature reserve, the earth seems to open up and 275 separate falls crash over a horseshoe-shaped precipice, nearly five kilometres wide and 90 metres high.
Find out more about tailor-made holidays to Argentina
Find out more about tailor-made holidays to Brazil
3 Angel Falls
Gran Sabana, Venezuela
Inspiration for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous ‘The Lost World’, the great flat-topped mountains of the Gran Sabana are home to Angel Falls, the world's highest waterfall. The falls are named after the American pilot Jimmy Angel, who crash-landed here when looking for gold in the 1930s.
Find out more about tailor-made holidays to Venezuela
4 Niagra Falls
Ontario, Canada
One of the natural wonders of the world, Niagara Falls never fails to impress by the sheer scale and volume of thundering water. The famous Horseshoe Falls are divided from the American Falls by tiny Goat Island, and the whole sight is a dizzying spectacle of nature at its most powerful.
Find out more about tailor-made holidays to Canada
5 Kaieteur Falls
Near Georgetown, Guyana
First see by Europeans in 1870, there are no other falls in the world with the magnitude of the sheer drop existing at Kaieteur. One of the worlds natural wonders, it spews 30,000 gallons of water per second over a sandstone conglomerate tableland into a deep gorge - a drop of 822 feet or 5 times the height of Niagara Falls.
Find out more about tailor-made holidays to Guyana
6 Huka Falls
Taupo, New Zealand
Although far from the widest or tallest the Huka Falls on the Waikato River, near Taupo in New Zealand, is still an impressive sight - especially from the small footbridge which crosses the raging torrent below. Another viewing option is up-close from the famous ‘Huka Jet’ boat.
Find out more about tailor-made holidays to New Zealand
7 Khone Phapeng
Champaska Province, Laos
Khone Phapeng - the largest waterfall in South East Asia, also known as the 'Niagara of the east', though somewhat smaller than its namesake!
Find out more about tailor-made holidays to Laos
8 Murchinson Falls
Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda
Located in western Uganda, this is where the wide and placid Nile is suddenly forced through a narrow cleft in the Rift Valley escarpment producing a torrent of white water.
Find out more about tailor-made to Uganda
9 Pagsanjan Waterfall
Near Manilla, Philippines
Not the biggest but certainly in one of the most beautiful settings. It's one of the few in our list which you can get very close to: some people have enjoyed being taken out on a bamboo raft in order to get right behind the falls.
Find out more about tailor-made holidays to The Philippines
10 Virginia Falls
Nahanni National Park, Canada
The Nahanni National Park in Canada's Northwest Territories is so remote that there are no roads in. Consequently, sightseeing is generally by float-plane. At Virginia Falls you can walk along the top of the falls to a perfect photo location, or follow the trail to the bottom of the falls to experience the force of this natural wonder.
Find out more about tailor-made holidays to Canada
Send us your comments on this article...
blog comments powered by Disqus
Audley is a travel company dedicated to creating wonderful, tailor-made holidays for discerning travellers. I hope you enjoy reading the articles written by our team and if you find inspiration, our main website contains details of our trips to over 80 countries worldwide.







