The 8 most vertigo-inducing places I've stood

I'm an adrenaline junkie, and I'll happily admit it. Heights don't scare me, but plenty of people would feel their legs go at every one of these. They're the eight biggest drops I've stood next to (or jumped off), in no particular order.

The Devil's Pool, Zambia

A rock pool right on the edge of Victoria Falls, with a 108-metre drop just the other side of the rock. You lie on your front and look straight over the edge while a guide holds your ankles. I did it in July 2019. More on my waterfalls list · The goal

Me in the Devil's Pool on the edge of Victoria Falls

Trolltunga, Norway

A ledge of rock sticking out 700 metres above a lake, at the end of a 20 to 28 km hike. Everyone wants the photo of themselves on the end of it, and you earn it. May 2023. The goal

Trolltunga sticking out over the lake Photo: Steinar Talmoen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Pulpit Rock (Preikestolen), Norway

A flat-topped cliff 604 metres above the Lysefjord. It's an easy enough hike, about 4 hours there and back, and then you're standing on the edge of a sheer drop with no railing. Same trip, May 2023.

Me sitting on the edge of Pulpit Rock above the Lysefjord

The Bloukrans Bridge bungee, South Africa

A 216-metre jump from under a road bridge on the Garden Route, one of the highest bridge bungees in the world. The walk out under the bridge deck to the platform is half the fear. August 2017.

Hanging upside down after the Bloukrans bungee

The Nevis Bungy, New Zealand

134 metres from a cable car hung over the Nevis River near Queenstown, New Zealand's highest bungee. March 2010.

Me mid-jump on the Nevis Bungy above the Nevis River

The Death Road, Bolivia

Not one big drop but 60-odd km of them: a narrow gravel road along cliffs above the jungle, once called the world's most dangerous road, ridden downhill on a mountain bike. December 2015. The goal

On the Death Road with the valley behind me

The top of the Burj Khalifa, Dubai

The tallest building in the world at 828 metres, with the city, the desert and the Gulf laid out below. The safest one on this list, and still a long way down. December 2011.

The Burj Khalifa above the Dubai skyline Photo: Tim Reckmann, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Lion's Head, Cape Town

A 2 to 3 hour hike up a peak next to Table Mountain, with a few chains and ladders near the top and the whole of Cape Town below you. August 2017.

Me at the top of Lion's Head with Table Mountain behind

Want more?

Most of these are on my biggest adrenaline hits and best hikes lists, with how to book each one.

Pick the one that scares you most and go and stand on the edge of it.