All activities / Whitewater Kayaking / Rafting / Livingstone
Whitewater Kayaking / Rafting 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 Zambezi below Victoria Falls is one of the world's classic big-water runs, a string of steep, powerful rapids that grind through the black basalt of the Batoka Gorge from just beneath the falls. Trips launch from Livingstone on the Zambian side and take on named grade IV and V rapids such as the Washing Machine and the Overland Truck Eater, with the walls of the gorge rising sheer on either side and the only way out a climb up the cliff at the end. It is commercial rafting at a serious scale, run in big paddle and oar rafts with safety kayakers, yet open to fit first-timers. The run changes completely with the river: high water covers many rapids and shortens the trip, while low water from about August exposes the full sequence for the biggest, most technical days. Livingstone is also the base for Devil's Pool, the low-water swim at the very edge of the falls.
Best months
The rafting season splits into high and low water. Low water, from roughly August to December or January, exposes the full run of rapids and is the prime big-water period, with full-day trips through the highest number of rapids. High water, from around February to July, submerges many rapids and the commercial run is shorter and sometimes suspended at the peak of the flood in April and May. The gorge is hot, and every trip ends with a steep climb or cable-car lift out. Devil's Pool at the falls' edge is only safe in the low-water months, roughly August to January.
Getting there & around
Livingstone has an international airport with flights from Lusaka and Johannesburg, and the falls and rafting put-ins are a short drive from town. Rafting is a full-day or half-day trip booked through a Livingstone operator, who provides guides, safety kayakers and all equipment. Every trip involves a steep hike into and out of the Batoka Gorge, or a cable-car lift, so a reasonable level of fitness is needed. Check whether trips are running at the peak of the high-water flood in April and May, when the commercial run can close.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Schools & guides (2)
Safari Par Excellence
OutfitterSafari Par Excellence, known as Safpar, has run adventure trips out of Livingstone since 1988 and is the leading white-water rafting operator on the Zambian side of the Zambezi. Its trips run the Batoka Gorge below Victoria Falls through a sequence of grade IV and V rapids, with half-day, full-day and multi-day options split between the high-water and low-water seasons. The company is based at the Victoria Falls Waterfront on the river above the falls.
Water by Nature
OutfitterWater by Nature is a specialist white-water rafting company that runs its own multi-day expeditions on the Zambezi through the Batoka Gorge, using its own guides and safety kayakers rather than reselling day trips. Its flagship Zambezi expedition spends seven days rafting the full commercial and expedition run below Victoria Falls, camping on gorge beaches, and grades the water at Class V. The company has run river expeditions worldwide for more than twenty years.