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Livingstone is a town in southern Zambia that was the capital of Northern Rhodesia until 1935. The town is a historic British colonial town, which was named after the Scotsman David Livingstone, who was the first European to explore the area. It happened in 1855, when the subiya-kololo chief Sekeletu showed the Scot the Zambezi River and the Victoria Falls.
There are quite a few sights in Livingstone today, and many tourists come to the town, who naturally want to experience the Victoria Falls. The falls are easily accessible and they are located on the Zambezi road as the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia. Victoria Falls is one of nature’s true wonders and perhaps one of the most impressive natural sites in the world. Already from a long distance you can see the large volumes of water that almost rise above Victoria Falls.
There are several viewpoints and hiking trails in both Zimbabwe and Zambia, where you can see and experience the water literally spilling over the edge of the cliff and into the 100 meter deep gorge that the water masses have cut into the bedrock over time. In the middle of it all, the Victoria Falls Bridge spans the course of the Zambezi, and as a border bridge it is a major attraction in itself.
Back in Livingstone, you can explore the old colonial capital. You can start with a visit to the Livingstone Museum, which has, among other things, an exhibition about David Livingstone. The museum also has archaeological, ethnographic and historical collections. One can also enjoy the atmosphere of several old buildings along the main street of Mosi-Oa-Tunya and this side street in central Livingstone.
The waterfalls Victoria Falls the big attraction in the area between the cities of Livingstone in Zambia and Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. The place is undoubtedly also one of the African continent’s great landmarks and nature experiences. To see and experience the falls, one would normally visit the Victoria Falls National Park in Zimbabwe, as the best view is obtained from here. The park is located next to and opposite most of the falls starting from the western end of the water cascades.
Along the waterfalls, a series of numbered viewpoints have been marked in the park, which are also referred to here. To the far west is Viewpoint I, and to the southwest at the Victoria Falls Bridge is Viewpoint XVI. Note that some of the viewpoints are covered in water during the rainy season
From west to east lies the first of the majestic waterfalls, the so-called Devil’s Cataract, which can be seen nicely from viewpoint II. It measures 60 meters in height, and is thus the lowest of the falls. Devil’s Cataract is the geologically weakest point along the falls and the Zambezi has cut a ten meter deep furrow in the basalt here and continued development will direct more and more water this way. Devil’s Cataract is separated from the remaining falls by Cataract Island, also known as Boaruka Island. Boaruka means “parts of water” in the language of the Tonga tribe.
East of Cataract Island are the actual falls, Main Falls, which can be seen from, among other things, viewpoints V-X. Perhaps the best place is point VII, where you get the full roar, sound and power of the waterfall right in front of you. Main Falls is where most of the water falls over the edge of the cliff, before thundering after 100 meters against the rocks and water below.
East of Main Falls is the island of Livingstone Island, which is well seen from lookout point XI. The island is named after Scottish David Livingstone, who arrived on 16 November 1855 as the first European to the area. He was paddled to the island by locals, and it was from here that he saw the actual falls for the first time. He also tried to measure the drop height from here using a string with cartridges as a weight. He four-footed it more than 90 meters down. At lower water levels, you can get to Livingstone Island and experience David Livingstone’s path of discovery. It happens from the Zambian side of the border.
Immediately west of Livingstone Island you can see the small Armchair Falls, where the famous swimming pool is located. The swimming pool is a naturally formed hole undisturbed by the flow and fall of the Zambezi just inches from the pool and in the dry season you can swim here just an arm’s length from the cascading waterfall.
East of Livingstone Island are the Horseshoe Falls, seen from viewpoint XI. Horseshoe Falls gets its name from the horseshoe shape that the Zambezi has carved into the top of this section of Victoria Falls. In the dry season, Horseshoe Falls may be the easternmost waterfall, as the following in this direction may have dried up.
After Horseshoe Falls come the highest of the falls. It is the Rainbow Falls with a height of 108 meters. The falls can be seen from viewpoint XIII, and the name comes from the beautiful rainbows you can be lucky enough to see here.
Farthest to the east flows the eastern branch of the Zambezi, which descends over the Eastern Cataract. The Eastern Cataract is often parched in the dry season, and this gives a different perspective on the nature of the area. When the falls have dried up here, it is possible to join a trip along the falls and all the way to Livingstone Island. The Eastern Cataract can be seen from viewpoint XIV or from the Knife’s Edge site on the Zambian side of the Zambezi.
Knife’s Edge and the area immediately east of it in Zambia also offer a fantastic look down along the falls, and here you can imagine how they have moved from east to west over time. You can also look at Zimbabwe’s Danger Point and see how steep the cliffs are below. Finally, you can also see the entire impressive water cloud that rises over the entire waterfall area.
The Zambezi River forms the border between the countries of Zimbabwe and Zambia, and the Zambezi is the source of the Victoria Falls. The river is the fourth longest in Africa with 2,574 kilometers. It originates in Zambia, and after running in or on the borders of Zambia, DR Congo, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, it empties into the Indian Ocean.
Along the course of the Zambezi there are several waterfalls, of which Victoria Falls is by far the largest and most impressive. There are also several hydroelectric plants with dams here. Kariba Dam is located on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe and forms Lake Kariba, while Cahora Bassa in Mozambique forms a lake of the same name.
The Zambezi is usually divided into the Upper Zambezi, which runs from its headwaters to Victoria Falls, the Middle Zambezi between Victoria Falls and Cahora Bassa, and the Lower Zambezi from Cahora Bassa to the Indian Ocean.
In the area around the towns of Victoria Falls and Livingstone, you can experience the calm course of the Zambezi up close before Victoria Falls. This can, for example, be experienced from the national parks in the area, and after Victoria Falls you can see a series of canyons in the bedrock, which the masses of water have carved out over time. They can be seen, for example, from the Victoria Falls Hotel or the Victoria Falls Bridge.
Victoria Falls National Park is located along the Zambezi River and Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwean side of the border. The centerpiece of the park is naturally the majestic Victoria Falls, but there are several other experiences in the park itself.
You can walk along the waterfalls and enjoy many impressive views of them. You can also walk to the west end of the park, where there is a statue of David Livingstone. The statue stands near the Devil’s Cataract Viewpoint. Standing here, one can think of David Livingstone’s words from November 16, 1855: “…scenes so lovely must have been gazed on by angels in their flight.”
Starting from the Livingstone statue, you can walk in the park and experience nature and the waterfalls in their entire length. You first pass the place Chain Walk, there are 73 steps down to the place with the falls’ best view of rainbows and the cascades in the first part of Victoria Falls. The first and westernmost part of the falls is called Devil’s Cataract, which is separated from the actual falls, Main Falls, by the island Cataract Island.
Opposite Cataract Island and Main Falls, in the park you can experience a rainforest with plants that are not otherwise seen in the region; eg mahogany trees. You can also see a baobab tree that measures 20 meters in height and 16 meters in diameter.
Further east and immediately after Main Falls you can see the island of Livingstone Island, and to the east of it you can enjoy the sight of first the Horseshoe Falls and then the Rainbow Falls.
Farthest east you come to Danger Point, which juts out along the falls of the Eastern Cataract. Here you can see the gorge cut by the Zambezi River and through which it continues its course after Victoria Falls. On the opposite bank lies Zambia, and if you continue south-east and away from the falls, you can enjoy the sight of the Victoria Falls Bridge.
On this stretch you can also get down to the Boiling Pot, from where you can board White Water Rafting trips. On the descent to the Boiling Pot, you get a bird’s-eye view of the falls, which puts the size and power of the falls into perspective.
During walks in the park, you can also look for and enjoy the experience of the local wildlife. You can see, for example, a number of birds, baboons and various species of antelope.
Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park is an area located on the Zambian side of the Zambezi. The park covers the area to the east of Victoria Falls as well as over 66 km2, which lies approximately 20 kilometers along the Zambezi to the northwest of the falls.
The most visited part of the national park is the area that stretches from the border post with Zimbabwe to Victoria Falls itself. Shortly after the entrance there is a statue of David Livingstone. It was erected in 2005 and stands as a counterpart to its better known and older counterpart in the national park of Zimbabwe at the other end of the falls.
From here you can start by walking along the paths to the banks of the Zambezi and see the quiet river, which just a few meters later rushes down over the edge of the cliff. The time of year determines the amount of water that flows here, and outside of the rainy season the eastern falls can be dry.
After the banks of the Zambezi, you can follow the intensity of the falls by following the paths and viewpoints to the Knife-Edge Bridge walkway, which leads over a gorge to a lovely tour close to Victoria Falls and where the Zambezi cuts inland through several large gorges. Note that you can rent rain boots and jackets before this bridge, and especially in the rainy season, the investment is worth every penny.
The round trip after the Knife-Edge Bridge offers beautiful rainforest and exquisite views from vantage points of both the Victoria Falls body of water, the Victoria Falls Bridge and the gorge that carries the Zambezi along the Zambia-Zimbabwe border.
In connection with this part of the park is the Field Museum, where you can get closer to the natural history explanation of the mighty Victoria Falls, and you can also see various finds that have been found in the area. These include stone tools, among other things.
Northwest of the falls, Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park offers a large area that is a nature and wildlife reserve. The plant and animal life is particularly rich, with e.g. baboons, zebras, buffaloes, warthogs and a number of antelope species. Hippos and crocodiles can also be found at the Zambezi, and elephants can sometimes cross the river from Zimbabwe. The bird life in the park is exciting to experience, and here there is a large number of species.
In the park is also the Old Drift Cemetery, where some of the early European settlers were buried. Some visitors who were affected by e.g. malaria were also laid to rest here. Among other things, you can see Samuel Thomas Alexander’s grave at the Old Drift Cemetery, which was abandoned when the settlers moved to higher ground at present-day Livingstone.
The Victoria Falls Bridge is a bridge that stands majestically over the Zambezi River as one of Africa’s iconic structures. The border between Zambia and Zimbabwe runs in the middle of the bridge, and from both countries, without officially visiting the neighboring country, you can walk to and over the bridge before returning to the starting point. You can of course also go from country to country, but it is not necessary if you do not want to spend extra time crossing the border formally.
The bridge was built as part of the famous Cecil Rhodes’ plan to connect the British possessions from Cape Town in the south to Cairo in the north. Although Rhodes did not make it to Victoria himself, he instructed his engineers to build the railway and thereby the Victoria Falls Bridge, so that from the train one could catch a glimpse of the falls themselves.
The bridge was produced in England and in parts sailed to Beira in Mozambique, from where the pieces were taken by the new railway to Victoria Falls, where, after 14 months of construction, the bridge was opened in 1905. It is 198 meters long, and it stands 128 meters above the lower water table in the Zambezi.
Immediately from its opening, the bridge connected vast areas of land and resources in Southern Rhodesia and Northern Rhodesia respectively, and it remains a major traffic artery. The Victoria Falls Bridge is thus still the only rail link between Zimbabwe and Zambia, and the road over the bridge is one of very few that connect the two countries.
For many decades, regular passenger trains ran over the bridge, but this traffic has stopped today. However, the bridge’s railway continues to be used by both freight trains and special passenger trains such as Rovos Rail’s luxury trains. You can also go out on the bridge with the Victoria Falls Tram, which runs from the station in Victoria Falls, and you can also try bungee jumping from the middle of the bridge immediately on the Zambian side of the border, which is clearly marked by lines and signs.
The Capitol Theater is the oldest surviving cinema in Zambia. The fine and period building in art deco was built in 1931 with both floor, balcony and loggias. It was the Lithuanian Grill family that was behind the cinema.
The highlight of the Capitol Theater was colonial Northern Rhodesia, but after many years of closure the place was able to reopen as a cinema in 2009. The original interior and technology were preserved, but the place was of course brought up to date at the opening.
The North-Western Hotel is a former hotel located atmospherically in Livingstone’s busy bus station, where there is a constant throng of buses and minibuses bound for Lusaka and other destinations.
The hotel was built in 1907 by Mr. and Mrs. Freddie Mills, who took the name North-Western Hotel from Pauling & Co.’s place of the same name from 1906. The first, however, had been fitted out as government offices.
The North-Western Hotel was for many years one of the city’s leading meeting places, and there have been balls, public meetings and other activities at the hotel before the place had to close.
The Livingstone Museum is the city’s national museum, and in addition to being the country’s oldest national museum, it is also one of Zambia’s finest museums.
At the museum, you can see a number of archaeological finds from Kalambo Falls and Mumbwa Caves, among others, a larger ethnographic collection and a number of belongings from Scottish David Livingstone, after whom the city was once named. There is also a fine collection on the history of Northern Rhodesia and Zambia as well as various natural science exhibitions.
The current and distinctive museum building opened in 1950 and stands as one of the landmarks in the city centre, where the museum is definitely one of the highlights.
The station in Livingstone, like much else in the city, is connected with the construction of the railway over the Zambezi and the Victoria Falls bridge, which linked the now former British protectorates and colonies together.
The history of railways in what is now Zambia began in early 1905, when the approximately 150 kilometer stretch between Livingstone and Kalomo was opened. It happened a few months before the Victoria Falls Bridge was put into use, and the first locomotive had to be moved in parts by cable car from Southern Rhodesia over the Zambezi at the bridge to Northern Rhodesia.
In the years that followed, the network from Livingstone was rapidly expanded, and in 1906 it was possible to drive to Broken Hill, now Kabwe, and in 1909 to Ndola in the important Copperbelt region.
Today, you can take the train to, among other things, the capital Lusaka, but until the 1960s a major international railway network was operated in southern Africa with, for example, night trains between Ndola via Livingstone to Cape Town in South Africa.
A line today is also the 160 kilometers between Livingstone and Mulobezi. The line was laid out as the Zambezi Sawmills Railway and was to transport teak from the area north of the Zambezi to Livingstone and other parts of the British territories in southern Africa. There are a few trains running on the line, and a short distance from the area by the city’s railway museum you can take the elegantly restored Royal Livingstone Express.
Old Government House is the name of the governor’s residence and the primary government offices from the years 1907-1935, when Livingstone was the capital of Northwestern Rhodesia and Northern Rhodesia.
The buildings, along with others on Akapelwa Street, form a picture from colonial Zambia. This street, together with the main street Mosi-Oa-Tunya and the streets immediately north of it, is worth a walk.
Victoria Falls is the English name for Victoria Falls, but it is also the name of the town in Zimbabwe that lies immediately next to the falls. With that location, Victoria Falls is one of the most visited cities in Zimbabwe.
The town is very pleasant, and in it you can see, among other things, the Victoria Falls Hotel. It is a historic hotel that stands as one of the landmarks in the area around Victoria Falls. It opened in 1904 as a railway hotel for guests from the newly constructed railway, and from the hotel’s terrace you could and can see through one of the Zambezi’s gorges after the falls and to the beautiful Victoria Falls Bridge, beautifully illuminated in the evening.
Read more about Victoria Falls
Chobe National Park is a national park in northern Botswana. It is considered one of the best parks in the region in terms of the concentration of game. The park is divided into different habitats, and the place can be experienced, for example, on organized tours from Victoria Falls and Livingstone.
Chobe National Park was made a national park in 1968, making it the first of its kind in Botswana. In the years that followed, industry was moved out of the park to ensure that the large area was free of human activity.
The national park spreads in northwestern Botswana, and the town of Kasane is a good starting point for trips to the park, where there are several ecosystems. In the area near Kasane there are lush plains and teak forests, and due to the proximity to Victoria Falls, this part is the most visited part of Chobe. In the western parts of the park there are large areas of marsh, while the middle part of the national park is a relatively dry inland with grazing areas.
The Zambezi National Park spreads together with the Victoria Falls National Park over 56,000 hectares, and here there is a rich wildlife. But can see, among other things, the so-called big five in Africa, which are leopard, lion, elephant, water buffalo and rhinoceros. You can also see zebras, giraffes, crocodiles, a large number of antelopes and many other animals in the national park.
There are several options for tours in the Zambezi National Park. You can visit the park through its main entrance, and you can also take the 25 kilometer long Chamabondo Game Drive, which starts a few kilometers south of the town of Victoria Falls on the road to Bulawayo. It is a good opportunity to experience the park’s nature and animals.
Lusaka is the capital of Zambia and it is a rapidly developing city, with Cairo Road being the central boulevard. The name comes from Cecil Rhodes’ plan to connect the British colonies in Africa with the road and rail from Cape Town to Cairo, and this stretch of road in Lusaka was part of this planned route.
Along Cairo Road you will see high-rise buildings, office towers, institutional edifices, hotels and shops. Lusaka is also home to several beautiful churches with the Anglican Cathedral at the forefront. It is beautifully located in a green oasis, and the concrete structure with its interior color scheme is worth a visit; like many of the colonial-era buildings that are within walking distance from here.
Kaponda Avenue
shoprite.co.zm
Mosi-Oa-Tunya, Zambezi Street, Kuta Way Road
National Parks
Mosi-Oa-Tunya, Zimbabwe and Zambia
Victoria Falls Station
Mallet Drive, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
steamtraincompany.com
Livingstone Museum
Mosi-Oa-Tunya, Livingstone, Zambia
museumszambia.org
Railway Museum
Chishimba Falls Road, Livingstone, Zambia
Gwembe Crocodile Farm
Mosi-Oa-Tunya, Livingstone, Zambia
In the area around present-day Livingstone, Mukuni was the largest village before Livingstone was founded. Mukuni’s location 10 kilometers southeast of Livingstone was populated by local tribes originally from Zimbabwe. In the 18th century, people from the Congo conquered the area under the leadership of Chief Mukuni, after whom the village was named.
The first European in the area was Scottish David Livingstone, who came to Victoria Falls in 1855. He saw the falls from what is now Livingstone Island, which in the rainy season is almost in the middle of the cascading cascades from Victoria Falls.
With Livingstone, the entry of Europeans into this part of southern Africa started. It really took off with Cecil Rhodes’ British South Africa Company, which in the 1890s established British rule north of the Zambezi and thus in present-day Zambia. Before that, the colonization had taken place from the south and thereby with the establishment of Southern Rhodesia.
The British started mineral extraction and a timber industry, using the settlement of Old Drift on the Zambezi above Victoria Falls as a crossing point across the river. Due to the many gorges on the course of the Zambezi, this was the most appropriate transport point on a distance of several hundred kilometres, and the transports developed rapidly in line with the extraction.
With the Zambezi crossings, activity grew at Old Drift in present-day Zambia, eventually becoming the first town in the country to be established in 1897. However, Old Drift’s location was plagued by mosquitoes and accompanying malaria, and so the Europeans moved a few years to the highlands of present-day Livingstone, which became the center of the British in the region.
The railway company Rhodesian Railways had reached Bulawayo in Southern Rhodesia in the mid-1890s, and the line was the lever for an industrial development that included the coal mines at Hwange, which is located just over 100 kilometers from Victoria Falls.
Rhodesian Railways laid a line to Hwange, but Cecil Rhodes’ vision of a line through British colonies from Cape Town to Cairo was also to be pursued. Therefore the track was extended to Victoria Falls, which it reached in the form of the present town of Victoria Falls in 1904.
Victoria Falls as a settlement had been laid out in 1901 in connection with studies of the falls’ potential as a hydropower supplier, and with the imminent arrival of the railway, it brought the actual town with it. One of the prominent buildings was the distinguished railway hotel, the Victoria Falls Hotel, which, like the track, opened in 1904.
It was crucial for both the railway and the development of the areas that a connection could be established across the Zambezi. For this purpose, Cecil Rhodes initiated the construction of the Victoria Falls Bridge, which, according to Rhodes, was to be built so that passengers could see the falls themselves.
Railway development did not end with the bridge, however, as Rhodes already started construction of a railway between Livingstone and Kalomo in 1904, and it was put into service before the opening of the Victoria Falls Bridge in September 1905.
With the opening of the Victoria Falls Bridge and the new railway line, Livingstone boomed, and in 1907 the British made the city the capital of the combined Northern Rhodesia and North Eastern Rhodesia.
The new status as capital in itself gave rise to new growth. Various institutions were established here and with them new buildings, some of which can still be seen in the streetscape. The resource-rich surroundings also brought prosperity to Livingstone as a trading town, while the town of Victoria Falls in Southern Rhodesia developed tourism with its location right next to the falls of the same name. Livingstone was also a supplier to large parts of the tourism industry in Victoria Falls, so it too brought increased growth in the colonial capital.
In the first decades of the 20th century, both Livingstone and Victoria Falls experienced a solid period of growth, which was the basis for today’s urban society, which has, however, continued to develop; not least thanks to the influx of tourists to the waterfalls.
However, some administrative functions were moved when the more centrally located Lusaka became the new capital in 1935; it happened to get closer to the economically and resource-important area of the Copperbelt towards the Congo.
Zambia’s independence in the 1960s brought new times for Livingstone and Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. Up to and at the beginning of independence, many whites chose to move from Northern Rhodesia/Zambia to Southern Rhodesia and South Africa, among others. With them, part of Livingstone’s financial foundation disappeared. The closing of the border between Zambia and Southern Rhodesia was of great importance through the 1970s, whereby a lack of trade and tourism could be felt in Livingstone and to a lesser extent also in Victoria Falls.
After Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980, border conditions eventually normalized, and over the past decades, large sums of money have been invested in the rapidly growing tourist industry for the waterfalls, and that activity benefits both Victoria Falls and Livingstone. Thus, the cities today are equipped with many good hotels and countless experience opportunities for visitors.
As in the early days of the cities, the area also benefits from its location as a transit point for people and goods across the Zambezi. The railway over the Victoria Falls Bridge is still an important traffic artery, while increased trade comes from the river crossings to Botswana and Namibia by road west of Livingstone.
The Capitol Theater is the oldest surviving cinema in Zambia. The fine and period building in art deco was built in 1931 with both floor, balcony and loggias. It was the Lithuanian Grill family that was behind the cinema.
The highlight of the Capitol Theater was colonial Northern Rhodesia, but after many years of closure the place was able to reopen as a cinema in 2009. The original interior and technology were preserved, but the place was of course brought up to date at the opening.
The North-Western Hotel is a former hotel located atmospherically in Livingstone’s busy bus station, where there is a constant throng of buses and minibuses bound for Lusaka and other destinations.
The hotel was built in 1907 by Mr. and Mrs. Freddie Mills, who took the name North-Western Hotel from Pauling & Co.’s place of the same name from 1906. The first, however, had been fitted out as government offices.
The North-Western Hotel was for many years one of the city’s leading meeting places, and there have been balls, public meetings and other activities at the hotel before the place had to close.
The Livingstone Museum is the city’s national museum, and in addition to being the country’s oldest national museum, it is also one of Zambia’s finest museums.
At the museum, you can see a number of archaeological finds from Kalambo Falls and Mumbwa Caves, among others, a larger ethnographic collection and a number of belongings from Scottish David Livingstone, after whom the city was once named. There is also a fine collection on the history of Northern Rhodesia and Zambia as well as various natural science exhibitions.
The current and distinctive museum building opened in 1950 and stands as one of the landmarks in the city centre, where the museum is definitely one of the highlights.
The station in Livingstone, like much else in the city, is connected with the construction of the railway over the Zambezi and the Victoria Falls bridge, which linked the now former British protectorates and colonies together.
The history of railways in what is now Zambia began in early 1905, when the approximately 150 kilometer stretch between Livingstone and Kalomo was opened. It happened a few months before the Victoria Falls Bridge was put into use, and the first locomotive had to be moved in parts by cable car from Southern Rhodesia over the Zambezi at the bridge to Northern Rhodesia.
In the years that followed, the network from Livingstone was rapidly expanded, and in 1906 it was possible to drive to Broken Hill, now Kabwe, and in 1909 to Ndola in the important Copperbelt region.
Today, you can take the train to, among other things, the capital Lusaka, but until the 1960s a major international railway network was operated in southern Africa with, for example, night trains between Ndola via Livingstone to Cape Town in South Africa.
A line today is also the 160 kilometers between Livingstone and Mulobezi. The line was laid out as the Zambezi Sawmills Railway and was to transport teak from the area north of the Zambezi to Livingstone and other parts of the British territories in southern Africa. There are a few trains running on the line, and a short distance from the area by the city’s railway museum you can take the elegantly restored Royal Livingstone Express.
Old Government House is the name of the governor’s residence and the primary government offices from the years 1907-1935, when Livingstone was the capital of Northwestern Rhodesia and Northern Rhodesia.
The buildings, along with others on Akapelwa Street, form a picture from colonial Zambia. This street, together with the main street Mosi-Oa-Tunya and the streets immediately north of it, is worth a walk.
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