Ilala Lodge - Sunrise video of Victoria Falls April 2019 - April 2020

In a year-long project, Ilala Lodge Hotel has released a unique video of Victoria Falls – one of Seven Natural Wonders of the World – showcasing the highest and lowest water levels recorded in decades.

Since April 2019 until April 2020 the hotel has filmed a series of monthly sunrise videos over the 1.7 km stretch of falling water as it ebbs and flows with the changing seasons of the year.

At the end of 2019, headlines and images across the world claimed Victoria Falls had dried up. However, the Ilala Lodge Hotel monthly sunrise videos, in addition to data provided by the Zambezi River Authority, recorded continuous river flow during this period, despite being the lowest since 1995/6.

With the onset of the rainy season in the catchment areas upstream of Victoria Falls, the Zambezi River water levels began rising in November 2019, reaching an initial peak flow of 4,289 cubic metres per second on 31 March 2020, followed by a second peak of 4,358 cubic metres per second on 27 April 2020 – the highest recordings since 2009/10.