In the air
Lift off from the Zimbabwe side and watch the Zambezi vanish into its gorge, the spray rising beside you and the zig-zag canyons unfolding downstream.
From the ground, Victoria Falls is a sequence of viewpoints; from the air, it finally makes sense. A Victoria Falls helicopter flight shows the whole 1.7 km curtain at once, the river splitting around its islands above the lip, and the Batoka Gorge folding back on itself in a chain of zig-zag canyons, each marking an earlier position of the falls as the river cut back through weaker rock.
The short flight is known as the Flight of Angels, after a line attributed to David Livingstone about angels admiring the scene in flight, and lasts about 12–13 minutes. Longer flights of around 25 minutes continue upstream over the Zambezi National Park, where you may spot elephant, buffalo and hippo from above. Flights leave from helipads on the Zimbabwe side, a short drive from town, and we book them with your Victoria Falls stay; operators set and change their own prices.
Victoria Falls Helicopter Flight
We book your flight when we confirm your falls stay, ideally early in your visit so there is room to rebook if the weather disappoints.
A transfer collects you from your hotel or lodge for the short drive to the helipad.
After check-in and a safety briefing, the pilot assigns seats by weight to balance the aircraft, so you cannot always choose the front.
The helicopter usually circles the falls in both directions so that each side of the cabin gets a clear view of the curtain and the gorges.
Longer flights then head upriver over the Zambezi National Park before returning to the helipad, where your transfer waits.
Victoria Falls Helicopter Flight
Safaris
Victoria Falls · Hwange National Park · Matusadona · Mana Pools · Harare
Returning or ambitious safari travelers who want Zimbabwe’s full range — falls, big herds, open water and walking — in one private trip
Good to know
The standard Flight of Angels lasts about 12–13 minutes over the falls and gorges. A longer option of about 25 minutes adds the upper Zambezi and Zambezi National Park. With transfers and the briefing, allow one and a half to two hours.
It depends on what you want to see. From March to May the spray plume is at its most dramatic, though it can veil parts of the curtain. From September to December the lower water reveals the rock face and the zig-zag gorges in sharp detail.
If you enjoy wildlife and have time, yes: it adds the islands of the upper river and the chance of elephant or buffalo from above. If your main interest is the falls themselves, the shorter flight covers them well.
Helicopters fly from the Zimbabwe side with several passengers in an enclosed cabin, which suits photography and nervous flyers. Microlights fly from the Zambian side, carrying one passenger beside the pilot in the open air, and usually don’t let you hold a camera.
Experiences
On the water
Paddle about 50 km of the Zambezi over three nights, walking ashore by day and sleeping in simple fly-camps beside the river.
On foot
Walk the bush with some of Africa’s most rigorously trained guides, from Mana Pools’ floodplain to the rhino country of Matobo.
Culture
Walk through the stone city that gave Zimbabwe its name, built by Shona ancestors between the 11th and 15th centuries.
Tell us when you can travel, who is coming and whether you picture the falls, a canoe on the Zambezi or rhino tracks in the Matobo Hills. We’ll design a private Zimbabwe journey around it, and nothing is booked until you approve it.
Plan My Zimbabwe Safari