There’s something simply bewitching about a waterfall that thunders down from a height of thousands of feet into a ravine or gorge below. And there’s no stopping that awe-struck look that appears on your face when you get really close to one of these majestic sights. So if you are a nature-lover, here are some of the most popular waterfalls around the world that you definitely need to visit.
1. The Niagara Falls
Of course any waterfall list would have this particular falls in it! Appropriately called ‘The Granddaddy of all Waterfalls’, the Niagara Falls sits on the American – Canadian border and is the largest body of free falling water in the entire world, not to mention, the most powerful falls in North America as well.
Watching the Niagara is a treat in itself and you can choose to view it from America and well as Canada. If that’s not enough, you can opt to take a boat ride right near the bottom of the falls. Plenty of mist, spray and noise to expect here!
2. The Iguazu Falls
Situate din Argentina, South Ameriva, the Iguazu Falls is not just a single body of falling water, but a series of over 275 waterfalls that cascade separately to collect at the bottom. The waterfall (or) waterfalls spans a total width of 2 miles and can get pretty dangerous during the rainy season. If the timing of your visit coincides with summer however, you can possibly visit a part of the falls called the ‘Devil’s Throat.
3. The Angel Falls
If the Niagara is considered to be the largest waterfall in the whole world, the title of ‘the tallest waterfall in the world’ goes to Angel Falls in Venezuela. Part of the Venezuelan Jungle, the Angel Falls is located at a staggering height of 3211 feet. In fact, the waterfall is said to be so tall that the water thundering off the top actually evaporates before it can even reach the bottom! All you can see way down below is the water falling into a misty steam.
4. The Gullfoss
If you happen to visit Iceland, make it a point to visit the legendary Gullfoss situated on the Hvita River southwestern coast of the island nation. One of the main highlights of Gullfoss (called the ‘Golden Falls’ in English) is that it gives off an optical illusion of disappearing into the earth completely at a point. The water from the Gulfoss falls into a canyon that is nearly 105 feet deep, and flows through several staircase shaped arches in two different stages before finally disappearing from the point of view (as if vanishing into the earth). If it sunny, you can also catch several beautiful rainbows at various intervals throughout the thunderous cascade.
5. Plitvice Lakes
The Plitvice National Park is considered to be one of the oldest national park in southern Europe (officially opened in 1949), and is located Croatia. The park is also considered to be the largest national park in Croatia and houses countless numbers of waterfalls that originate from the Karst Mountains and find their way to the park via 20 or more interconnected lakes and caves.
The Plitvice Lakes and their surroundings resemble a greener version of the Grand Canyon in Colorado, USA. While the drier sides of the region are covered with bright green moss, the lakes at the bottom are crystal clear and house breathtakingly beautiful turquoise colored waters, thanks to the mineral runoff originating from the Dinerac Alps nearby.
The park is filled with water at most intervals and wooden walkways are present at certain areas to help visitors walk right up to the falls and lakes. Just so you get more interested in visiting it, the beauty of the park and its falls earned the park a UNESCO World Heritage Site tag in 1979.
6. Sutherland Falls
Located in New Zealand, the Sutherland Falls originate in the mountains overlooking Milford Sound and fall within the limits of the Fiordland National Park. The extremely beautiful falls thunder down a steep slope for nearly 1904 feet and can be accessed only via a hiking trail called the Milford TrackThough.
The highlight of the Sutherland Falls is that the water gushing down the slope passes through several climatic zones before reaching the bottom. Accordingly, the water from the Sutherland Falls first starts flowing from a glacial lake called Lake Quill situated in the Alpine meadows. By the time they reach the bottom though, the water would be falling into a rainforest.
7. Victoria Falls
Located on the Zimbabwean and Zambian border, the Victoria Falls is famous for two reasons. One; the 1 mile wide falls is twice the height of the Niagara Falls, and has so much water cascading down it at any one instant that it would be possible to see the spray created by it from 30 miles away!
And two; a swim in the Devil’s pool, an apparently calm stretch of water located right at the edge of the falls. An invisible rock wall beneath the water’s surface prevents swimmers from being washed over the falls. Think you have it in you to swim here?