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Flight Experiences in Livingstone
Livingstone, the old colonial town on the Zambian bank of the Zambezi, is the gateway to Victoria Falls and the country's adventure capital, base for white-water rafting in the Batoka Gorge, scenic flights over the falls, riverboarding, horse riding and the low-water swim at Devil's Pool on the very lip of the falls.
Why here
The only way to take in the full scale of Victoria Falls is from the air, and Livingstone is the base for the Flight of Angels, the scenic loop over the mile-wide curtain where the Zambezi drops into a zigzag of gorges. Microlights carry a single passenger tucked behind the pilot for an open-air pass low over the falls and the river, while helicopters bank over the main gorge, the spray plume and the islands upstream, often continuing over the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park where elephant and other game graze the Zambezi's banks. From above you can finally read the geology of the place, the line of old fault gorges the falls have carved back over thousands of years. Flights run year-round, and the falls are at their most dramatic from the air when the river is in full flood between April and June.
Best months
Scenic flights operate year-round in the mornings and afternoons, weather permitting. The falls carry the most water and throw the highest spray plume from around April to June, at the tail of the rains, which is the most dramatic time from the air, though very heavy spray can partly veil the falls at the flood peak. From about September to December the river is lower and the rock structure of the falls and gorges is clearest. Microlights fly only in calm conditions and do not allow passengers to carry loose items such as cameras.
Getting there & around
Flights leave from a small airfield a short drive from Livingstone town and the falls, and most operators include road transfers. A microlight flight takes a single passenger with the pilot, so couples fly one at a time, while helicopters take several passengers. Book directly with a Livingstone aviation operator, either as a short pass over the falls or a longer flight that adds the national park and gorges. Personal cameras are not allowed on microlights for safety, so buy the pilot-captured photos or video afterward.
Skill levels: beginner
Schools & guides (2)
Batoka Sky
OutfitterBatoka Sky is the aviation arm of Livingstone's Adventure and has flown scenic trips over Victoria Falls since 1998, licensed by the Zambian Civil Aviation Authority. It offers fifteen and thirty-minute microlight flights, with a single passenger beside the pilot, and helicopter flights over the falls and the Batoka Gorge. Loose items are barred on the microlights, so pilot-operated wing cameras record the flight. Batoka Sky also runs Bobo Camp at Rapid 21 in the gorge.
United Air Charter
OutfitterUnited Air Charter is a Livingstone-based helicopter operator that has flown the Flight of Angels over Victoria Falls for around twenty years. Its scenic flights circle the falls before continuing upriver over the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park, where elephant and other game are often seen along the Zambezi. It offers a short falls flight and a longer one that adds the park, flies seven days a week, and uses certified commercial pilots. Road transfers around Livingstone are included.