For many first-time visitors, Victoria Falls is imagined in the dry season: Clear skies, gentle spray, and postcard-perfect views. Dry season is an excellent time of year to visit, make no mistake, but it’s not the only time worth visiting…
From November to April, the landscape around Victoria Falls shifts into what is known as the Green Season. At the start of summer, seasonal rains arrive and the Zambezi begins to swell. The full river makes for an absolutely tremendous crash of water over the Falls and gives you a true sense of why Victoria Falls is called “the smoke that thunders” in local languages. It also means that the surrounding landscape is green, the weather is hot and humid and everywhere life seems to be bursting at the seams – from birdlife to larger animals.
Staying at Ilala Lodge Hotel, just a short walk from Victoria Falls National Park (about 5 minutes on foot), allows you to experience this season in its entirety. It also means you have a convenient respite from your explorations and can pick them up again any time you choose. No travel time means more leisure time and we think you’ll soon discover that Victoria Falls in Green Season is a destination in and of itself!
You want to visit Victoria Falls, so what does the Zambezi in full flow entail?
Visit Victoria Falls: Understanding The Green Season
The Green Season coincides with the summer rains in Victoria Falls. Showers tend to arrive as short, dramatic cloudbursts, most common in December and January, before clearing to reveal warm, luminous afternoons. Between rainfall, the days are bright, humid and generous with sunshine. In other words, you’ll love spending plenty of time in our swimming pool, or letting the spray from the waterfall drench you from top to toe.
With the rains, dry grassland turns into thick green growth, trees fill out with leaves and our gardens and lawns flourish. It’s also a less crowded time of year, making it well suited to travellers who value space, time, and a more unhurried pace.
At Ilala Lodge Hotel, this seasonal shift is felt in the movement of wildlife through the gardens, and in the gentle contrast between the power of the Falls nearby and the calm of the hotel itself.
For a little context: Our grounds are in the heart of Victoria Falls town, but entirely fenced off and private. You won’t know about the bustle of the townsfolk going about their business until you step outside the gates, and yet, you can feel the marvelous energy of daily life happening all around you.
The Drama Of The Falls
Victoria Falls is shaped entirely by the Zambezi River, and the Green Season is when the river begins its annual transformation.
As rainfall increases upstream, river levels rise steadily from January onward, usually reaching their peak between March and May. (Remember, water takes time to travel downstream, so the peak level of the Falls doesn’t coincide exactly with the peak levels of rain, though there is a rough, delayed correlation.) This rise changes not only the volume of water pouring over the edge, but the entire experience of the Falls.
During high-flow months, the Falls become a continuous, thundering curtain of water. Mist rises in great plumes, drifting across the rainforest and often carrying with it a full spectrum of rainbows. Visibility varies from viewpoint to viewpoint, but what you lose in sharp definition, you gain in scale, sound and atmosphere.
It’s difficult to describe the sheer might of this body of water. We suppose that’s why it was named one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World!
From Ilala Lodge Hotel, the entrance to Victoria Falls National Park is just a five-minute walk away. Visiting early in the morning or later in the afternoon allows you to experience changing light, shifting spray, and quieter moments between the day’s visitors. Waterproof jackets and camera covers are part of the experience, as is returning to the comfort of the lodge afterwards, where you can let your shoes dry out in the sun.
Walking The Rainforest
One of the Green Season’s quiet pleasures is walking through the Victoria Falls rainforest.
Fed by rainfall and the constant spray from the Falls, this pocket of forest remains green year-round, but in summer it becomes especially lush. Leaves gleam, pathways feel cooler beneath the canopy, and birdsong carries through the trees.
Even in the dry season, this rainforest is sustained by mist alone, but during the Green Season, it feels fully awake.
We recommend you visit the Falls more than once during your stay; the first time for the awe, and the following times to notice small details you didn’t before, and to really get to “know” this spectacle at your own pace.
Cruise On The Zambezi River
When river levels rise, the Zambezi River takes on a slower, broader presence upstream of the Falls. This is an ideal time to experience the river itself.
Guests of Ilala Lodge Hotel can enjoy river cruises through our sister property, Palm River Hotel, whose Ra-Ikane fleet offers breakfast, lunch and sunset outings. Wildlife is often drawn to the river’s edge and you’re sure to see elephants, hippos resting in the shallows, and migratory bird species during your cruise.
Simply chat to our friendly team at reservations and they’d be happy to organise a shuttle for you.
Wildlife & Safari Experiences
While summer is not traditionally associated with peak game viewing, the Green Season offers its own rewards. With water widely available, animals move more freely across the landscape, and national parks are noticeably quieter.
Zambezi National Park and Chobe National Park remain accessible, offering great safari experiences and excellent birdlife, particularly during migratory months. Elephant sightings are common, and the greenery adds depth and texture to the landscape.
Again, Ilala Lodge Hotel’s reception team can assist with day-trip planning and logistics – there’s no need for you to worry about a thing!
Your Green Season Base
Ilala Lodge Hotel offers a calm, elegant base from which to experience Victoria Falls in full flow. We’re close enough to walk to the Falls, yet removed enough to feel restful. For first-time visitors, it’s an ideal introduction; not only to Victoria Falls, but to this region of Zimbabwe, which is within day trip distance of destinations in Zambia and Botswana as well.
To book your Green Season stay, contact our reservations team a onlinereservations@ilalalodge.com or book directly online.
We look forward to welcoming you – rain, mist, thunder and all!
