The 25 best waterfalls in the world (and the 15 I've been to)
Twenty-five waterfalls worth getting on a plane for. I've been to 15 of them so far, from sitting in the Devil's Pool on the lip of Victoria Falls to Angel Falls in the middle of the Venezuelan jungle. The rest are still on my list.
For each one: where it is, when to go, how to get there and how to book it. Where I've been, there's my photo and a link to the story.
15 of 25 ticked off
- Iguazú Falls ✓
- Victoria Falls ✓
- Angel Falls ✓
- Kaieteur Falls
- Niagara Falls ✓
- Plitvice Lakes ✓
- Gullfoss ✓
- Kalandula Falls ✓
- Ban Gioc Falls
- Kuang Si Falls
- Havasu Falls
- Skógafoss
- Krka National Park ✓
- Yosemite Falls
- Sutherland Falls
- Tugela Falls
- Gocta Falls
- Dunn's River Falls ✓
- Hraunfossar ✓
- Rhine Falls
- Wli Falls ✓
- Big Rock Falls ✓
- Lisbon Falls ✓
- Cascata de São Nicolau ✓
- Little River Falls ✓
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1 Iguazú Falls
Argentina and Brazil border✓ Been: January 2016
Hundreds of falls in a horseshoe of jungle. The Argentine side gets you right on top of the Devil's Throat on walkways; the Brazilian side gives you the big panorama.
- Size
- About 275 drops along 2.7 km
- When to go
- Year round. More water from December to February; nicer weather March to May and August to November.
- Getting there
- Fly to Puerto Iguazú (Argentina) or Foz do Iguaçu (Brazil). Give it two days, one on each side.
TOP TIP: Do the Argentine side first thing in the morning, before the tour groups arrive, and take a dry bag for your phone.
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2 Victoria Falls
Zambia and Zimbabwe border✓ Been: July 2019
The biggest curtain of falling water in the world. Zimbabwe has the classic views; Zambia has the Devil's Pool, a rock pool right on the edge you can swim in when the water's low.
- Size
- 108 m high, 1.7 km wide
- When to go
- February to May for the full roar and spray; roughly mid-August to January for the Devil's Pool, when the river's low.
- Getting there
- Fly to Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe) or Livingstone (Zambia). The KAZA visa covers both sides if you want to cross the bridge.
TOP TIP: See it from both sides. You'll get soaked on the Zimbabwe side in high water, so hire a poncho at the gate.
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3 Angel Falls
Canaima National Park, Venezuela✓ Been: March 2016
Water falling nearly a kilometre off the top of a flat-topped tepui, in the middle of the jungle with no road anywhere near it.
- Size
- 979 m, the world's tallest uninterrupted waterfall
- When to go
- Roughly June to November, when the river's high enough for the boats to reach the base.
- Getting there
- Fly into Canaima, then a boat trip up the river and a hike to the viewpoint. Scenic flights over the top run too. Check your government's travel advice for Venezuela first.
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4 Kaieteur Falls
Kaieteur National Park, GuyanaOn my list
A huge river dropping straight off a cliff in one go, and you can stand at the top with no barriers and no crowds.
- Size
- 226 m single drop
- When to go
- Year round. Flights are weather-dependent, so leave a spare day.
- Getting there
- A small-plane day trip from Georgetown, about an hour each way, or a multi-day trek through the rainforest.
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5 Niagara Falls
Canada and USA border✓ Been: December 2014
Not the tallest, but the sheer amount of water going over is something else. Get on the boat into the spray, or see it all from a helicopter.
- Size
- Horseshoe Falls 51 m
- When to go
- June to September for the boats; December to February if you want the falls half frozen.
- Getting there
- Fly to Toronto (about 1.5 hours away) or Buffalo. The Canadian side has the best view of the Horseshoe Falls.
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6 Plitvice Lakes
Croatia✓ Been: April 2017
Turquoise lakes spilling into each other down a valley, and you walk right across them on wooden boardwalks.
- Size
- 16 terraced lakes joined by waterfalls
- When to go
- April to June, when the water's high and it's not yet rammed.
- Getting there
- About two hours by car or bus from Zagreb, or a long day trip from Zadar or Split. Book a timed ticket online in summer.
TOP TIP: Get there for opening time. By late morning in summer the boardwalks are nose to tail. No swimming allowed.
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7 Gullfoss
Golden Circle, Iceland✓ Been: February 2013 and March 2020
A wide river drops twice and vanishes into a crack in the ground. In winter it's half frozen.
- Size
- 32 m in two steps
- When to go
- Year round. Summer for the long days; winter for ice on the falls and a chance of the northern lights.
- Getting there
- About 1 hour 45 minutes from Reykjavík on the Golden Circle, with Þingvellir and Geysir. Hire a car or join a day tour.
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8 Kalandula Falls
Malanje Province, Angola✓ Been: March 2019
One of the biggest waterfalls in Africa by volume, and hardly anyone has heard of it.
- Size
- 105 m high, about 400 m wide
- When to go
- The rainy season, roughly November to April, for the most water.
- Getting there
- About 360 km east of Luanda, near Malanje. Most people drive; there are viewpoints and places to stay on both sides of the gorge.
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9 Ban Gioc Falls
Cao Bằng, on the Vietnam and China borderOn my list
A wide, tiered waterfall that straddles an international border, in some of the best countryside in Vietnam.
- Size
- About 30 m high and over 200 m wide
- When to go
- August to October, when the water's high and the rice fields are green.
- Getting there
- Most of a day by road from Hanoi; break it with a night in Cao Bằng. Bamboo rafts take you up close.
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10 Kuang Si Falls
Near Luang Prabang, LaosOn my list
Turquoise pools stepping down through the forest, and you can swim in several of them. There's a bear rescue centre at the entrance.
- Size
- About 60 m main drop
- When to go
- November to April, when the pools are clearest.
- Getting there
- About 30 km south of Luang Prabang by tuk-tuk, minibus or scooter.
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11 Havasu Falls
Grand Canyon, Arizona, USAOn my list
Bright blue-green water falling into a red-rock canyon. The permit is a faff, but that's what keeps it special.
- Size
- About 30 m
- When to go
- Open February to November. Spring and autumn avoid the worst of the heat.
- Getting there
- Only with a permit from the Havasupai Tribe, sold as three nights and four days ($455 per person to camp in 2026). Then a 10-mile hike down from Hualapai Hilltop.
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12 Skógafoss
South coast, IcelandOn my list
A perfect square curtain of water you can walk right up to, with rainbows in the spray on a sunny day. Stairs up the side take you to the top.
- Size
- 60 m high, 25 m wide
- When to go
- June to August for the light; winter for fewer people.
- Getting there
- On the Ring Road, about two and a half hours from Reykjavík. Combine it with Seljalandsfoss, half an hour back up the road.
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13 Krka National Park
Near Šibenik, Croatia✓ Been: April 2017
The quieter cousin of Plitvice, with travertine falls tumbling through the trees.
- Size
- A chain of falls, Skradinski Buk the biggest
- When to go
- May to June, or September.
- Getting there
- About an hour from Split. Park at Skradin and take the boat up to the falls.
TOP TIP: Swimming at Skradinski Buk has been banned since 2021, so don't bring your trunks expecting a dip under the falls.
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14 Yosemite Falls
Yosemite National Park, California, USAOn my list
One of the tallest waterfalls in North America, in one of the best national parks anywhere.
- Size
- 739 m in three sections
- When to go
- April to June, when the snowmelt is at its peak. It can be a trickle by late summer.
- Getting there
- About four hours' drive from San Francisco. The lower fall is a short walk; the upper fall trail is a hard full day.
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15 Sutherland Falls
Fiordland, New ZealandOn my list
One of the tallest waterfalls in New Zealand, and you have to earn it on foot.
- Size
- 580 m
- When to go
- Late October to April, the Milford Track season.
- Getting there
- A side trip off the Milford Track, a four-day Great Walk that you need to book months ahead. Scenic flights from Queenstown or Te Anau go over it too.
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16 Tugela Falls
Drakensberg, South AfricaOn my list
In the running for the tallest waterfall in the world, pouring off one of Africa's most dramatic cliff faces.
- Size
- 948 m in five drops
- When to go
- November to March, the rainy season, for the most water.
- Getting there
- Hike to the top of the Amphitheatre from the Sentinel car park, including a set of chain ladders, or walk the gorge trail to see it from below.
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17 Gocta Falls
Amazonas, northern PeruOn my list
One of the tallest waterfalls in the world, and the outside world only really heard about it in 2006.
- Size
- 771 m in two tiers
- When to go
- May to September, when the trails are drier.
- Getting there
- Base yourself in Chachapoyas, then hike in from Cocachimba or San Pablo. Allow most of a day.
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18 Dunn's River Falls
Ocho Rios, Jamaica✓ Been: September 2009
The waterfall you climb. You walk up the falls hand in hand in a human chain, straight out of the sea.
- Size
- About 180 m of terraced falls
- When to go
- Year round. Go early, and avoid the days the cruise ships are in.
- Getting there
- Just outside Ocho Rios, about two hours from Montego Bay.
TOP TIP: Wear water shoes. The rocks are slippery.
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19 Hraunfossar
West Iceland✓ Been: March 2020
Water seeps out of a lava field and pours into a glacial blue river in dozens of little streams. Nothing else looks like it.
- Size
- Hundreds of small falls along about 900 m
- When to go
- Year round.
- Getting there
- About 1 hour 45 minutes from Reykjavík. Barnafoss is a short walk away.
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20 Rhine Falls
Schaffhausen, SwitzerlandOn my list
Europe's biggest waterfall by volume. Not tall, just a huge amount of water.
- Size
- 23 m high, 150 m wide
- When to go
- June and July, when the snowmelt makes it biggest.
- Getting there
- About 40 minutes by train from Zürich. Boats take you out to the rock in the middle.
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21 Wli Falls
Volta Region, Ghana✓ Been: January 2019
The tallest waterfall in West Africa, with a colony of fruit bats on the cliffs around it.
- Size
- About 80 m, the highest in Ghana
- When to go
- Year round. The upper falls trail is slippery in the rainiest months.
- Getting there
- About 20 km from Hohoe. The lower falls are a flat walk of under an hour; the upper falls are a steep climb of about four hours there and back.
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22 Big Rock Falls
Mountain Pine Ridge, Belize✓ Been: January 2020
A proper jungle swimming hole with a waterfall pounding into it.
- When to go
- November to May, the dry season.
- Getting there
- A drive up into the Mountain Pine Ridge from San Ignacio, then a short, steep walk down. Río On Pools is close by.
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23 Lisbon Falls
Panorama Route, Mpumalanga, South Africa✓ Been: August 2026
A tall waterfall that splits into several streams off the escarpment, a few minutes from the car park.
- Size
- 94 m, the highest in Mpumalanga
- When to go
- November to March, the rainy season, for the most water.
- Getting there
- Just north of Graskop on the Panorama Route. Easy to combine with God's Window, Berlin Falls and a Kruger trip.
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24 Cascata de São Nicolau
São Tomé✓ Been: February 2019
A tall, thin waterfall in thick rainforest, on an island hardly anyone visits.
- When to go
- June to September, the drier season.
- Getting there
- In the green hills of São Tomé island, a half-day trip from São Tomé town with a driver or guide.
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25 Little River Falls
Little River Canyon, Alabama, USA✓ Been: October 2026
A wide waterfall at the head of one of the deepest canyons east of the Mississippi.
- When to go
- Spring for the most water; autumn for the colours.
- Getting there
- Little River Canyon National Preserve, near Fort Payne. About an hour from Chattanooga or two from Atlanta, and the falls are right by the road.
Pick one, book the flight and go and get wet. Then come back and tell me which one I should tick off next.
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