Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park

Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park is located in the Southern Province of Zambia, bordering the city of Livingstone along the northern banks of the Zambezi River. Covering an area of approximately 66 square kilometers, the park encompasses the Zambian side of Victoria Falls, known in the local Lozi and Kololo languages as Mosi-oa-Tunya, or The Smoke that Thunders. The park extends roughly 12 kilometers along the riverfront upstream of the waterfall and continues downstream into the deep basalt gorges of the Batoka Gorge. Its landscapes transition from lush riverine rainforests nurtured by constant water mist to mopane woodlands, miombo forests, and open riverbank grasslands.The reserve is unique within Zambia as the only sanctuary housing white rhinos, which are closely protected under 24-hour surveillance by wildlife rangers. Because large predators are absent from the park, resident game includes giraffe, Burchell's zebra, African buffalo, impala, warthog, waterbuck, and bushbuck. Hippos and Nile crocodiles inhabit the river, while migratory African elephants regularly cross back and forth across the Zambezi River during the dry season between Zambia and Zimbabwe. The gorge walls provide nesting grounds for over 35 raptor species, including the Taita falcon, Verreaux's eagle, and peregrine falcon, alongside hundreds of other recorded bird species. Visitors can explore the park through game drives, guided walking safaris, or Zambezi River cruises.In addition to its ecological importance, Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park forms part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site designated in 1989. Within the park lies the Old Drift Cemetery, marking the original late 19th-century crossing point where European settlers floated ox-wagons across the Zambezi before establishing Livingstone town. Notable infrastructure includes the Knife-Edge Bridge constructed in the 1960s for foot access to views of the Eastern Cataract, as well as Livingstone Island, which marks the location where explorer David Livingstone first viewed the falls in 1855.