Landscapes in Africa

'Top of the World' might be a tad pretentious, but even if the walk to the highest hill in the crater lakes area south of Fort Portal doesn't leave you breathless, the view might. On good days, it is possible to see up to five of the many crater lakes that dot this region. The area is blessed with many tiny lakes formed by exploding volcanoes leaving holes in the hills and thus surprisingly steep edges to the lakes. Most of the hills surrounding the lakes have seen human activity and are heavily terraced, but others like Lake Nkuruba are still forested. Aside from this walk, other activities can be done in the area, like visiting a vanilla processing factory, fishing, bird and monkey watching, as well as walking to beautiful Mahoma Falls. Beware that the 'Top of the World' viewpoint is located on private property and that there's a (reasonable) fee to get to the top of the hill.

Amazing Victoria Falls is just an impressive sight. A wall of water more than 1700 m wide, plunging more than 100 m down into a gorge. It can be visited from both the Zimbabwean side and the Zambian side. Though most of the front of the falls is one the Zimbabwean side, the Zambian side has its fair share of great view points, some really close to the action. And for views of Victoria Bridge (where the bungy jumping is done from), you can't beat the Boiling Point. In the end of the dry season (April to October) and before the rainy season (November to March) picks up, parts of the Zambezi dry up and it's possible to walk across some streches at the crest of the falls. Through Livingstone Island you can get out to Devil's Pool, a natural rock pool right on the edge of the falls, where brave people have a dip and foolish people slip over. In the flood season (February to May) the falls are enveloped in mist, which can be seen many kilometers away. A visit to the falls at this time will leave you drenched and entranced by the power of nature.

Without actually holding any record, Victoria Falls is considered to be the greatest waterfall on the planet. Though its measurements are impressive - 107 m high, 1737 m wide and gushing out 1746 m³ of water every second - it is beaten in all categories by other falls. Angel Falls is 979 m high, Iguazu is 2700 m wide and 2407 m³ flows over Niagara Falls every second. But Victoira Falls is not about records, it's just one of those places that have to be seen. The Zambezi River flows between Zimbabwe and Zambia acting as the natural border. Wide upriver, but suddenly plunges into a deep narrow chasm at Victoria Falls before it winds its way hidden at the bottom of the gorge. At the end of the rainy season (November to March) the falls are almost obscured in spray, and during dry season (April to October) and right after, large sections are almost dried up. But no matter which season you come, you will be blown away by its sheer size and beauty.