Do Go Chasing Waterfalls: Why We Should Base at Least One Vacation Around a Waterfall Visit

Most trips get planned around food, culture, or a specific city. Waterfalls don’t usually make the top of the list, which is a mistake! Standing in front of a real one – hearing it before you see it, feeling the spray from fifty feet back – is a travel moment that doesn’t quite translate to photos or video. Everyone should build at least one vacation around a waterfall, and here’s the case for why.

The Scenery is Spectacular

Waterfalls are part of a landscape that you remember. Even regions known for other attractions tend to have a waterfall worth the detour, which is how you end up with your best Maine vacations leading you to Moxie Falls – one of New England’s tallest waterfalls at 90 feet, sitting quietly in the woods off a forest trail. The scale of a waterfall does something photos can’t reproduce, and you have to be there for it to land.

A few worth building a trip around for the view alone:

• Bridal Veil Fall, Yosemite National Park, California. 620 feet, visible from the valley floor, peak flow in May and June.
• La Fortuna Waterfall, Costa Rica. 200 feet of water dropping into a swimmable pool at the base of Arenal Volcano.
• Multnomah Falls, Oregon. Two-tiered, 620 feet total, with a pedestrian bridge across the lower cascade.
• Sutherland Falls, New Zealand. 1,904 feet, accessed via the Milford Track, one of the country’s Great Walks.

You Feel and See it

A waterfall hits more than one sense at once – you hear the volume of the water before you see it, and the temperature drops, and as you get closer, you can feel the spray on your face. The bigger waterfalls produce enough force that you can even feel the ground move from the viewing platform!

Waterfalls where the physical experience is the main event:

• Gullfoss, Iceland. Two tiers, 105 feet total, with a viewing path that puts you close enough to feel the spray and the vibration.
• Skógafoss, Iceland. 200 feet wide and 200 feet tall, walk right up to the base if you don’t mind getting soaked.
• Seljalandsfoss, Iceland. You can walk behind this one, which is rarer than you’d think.
• Niagara Falls, Ontario and New York. The Hornblower and Maid of the Mist boats put you directly under the spray.

They Pull You Off the Beaten Path

Some of the best waterfalls require a bit of effort to reach, which is part of what makes the trip memorable. Traveling to the waterfall gives you a structure and a payoff rather than just a list of stops.

Some waterfalls that require a real journey:

• Angel Falls, Venezuela. 3,212 feet, the tallest in the world, reached by river boat and a multi-hour hike through Canaima National Park.
• Kawasan Falls, Philippines. Jungle trek through Cebu to reach the turquoise pools at the bottom, with a canyoneering route that ends at the falls.
• Kaieteur Falls, Guyana. 741 feet, located deep in the rainforest, accessed by small plane or a multi-day overland trek.
• Havasu Falls, Arizona. The 10-mile hike into the Havasupai Reservation in the Grand Canyon requires a permit, which you must book well in advance.

They’re Tied to Local History and Belief

Waterfalls are often part of the cultural storytelling of the regions around them, and visiting one is a creative way to learn a little about local traditions. People have been making pilgrimages to some of these sites for over a thousand years, and the legends add a layer beyond the view.

Waterfalls with strong cultural ties:

• Nachi Falls, Japan. 436 feet, the tallest single-drop waterfall in the country, and part of the Kumano Nachi Taisha Shinto shrine complex.
• Victoria Falls, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Known locally as Mosi-oa-Tunya, “the smoke that thunders,” this is a sacred site in regional cosmology.
• Pistyll Rhaeadr, Wales. 240 feet, tied into Welsh folklore involving a serpent that supposedly terrorized the valley below.
• Iguazu Falls, Argentina and Brazil. Central to Guaraní origin stories, this waterfall is associated with a legend about a god, a mortal woman, and a dramatic geological event.

They Work for Any Traveler

Waterfall trips scale to any style of travel you want. You can visit one as a backpacker, a resort guest, or somewhere in between, which isn’t true of every kind of destination.

A range of accessibility levels:

• Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia. Wooden boardwalks connect 16 lakes and dozens of waterfalls, making it manageable for kids and older travelers alike.
• Iguazu Falls. Boat tours that go under the spray, plus elevated platforms and a train through the park.
• Detian Falls, China and Vietnam border. Bamboo raft rides and a viewing platform on each side, with a cross-border market at the base.
• Yosemite Falls, California. The base of the lower fall is wheelchair-accessible via a paved path; the upper fall is a strenuous all-day hike.

The Feeling Stays With You

People come back from waterfall tours describing a lot of feelings: humbled, calm, energized…the combination of scale, sound, and motion does something revitalizing to our brains. Most travelers who plan a trip around one come home talking about it for a long time!

The waterfalls that tend to leave the deepest impression:

• Victoria Falls. A mile wide, 354 feet tall, generates a mist column visible from 30 miles away.
• Iguazu Falls. 275 individual falls spread across nearly two miles, with the Devil’s Throat section as the centerpiece.
• Yosemite Falls. 2,425 feet total across three drops, the tallest in North America, loudest in spring.
• Dettifoss, Iceland. The most powerful waterfall in Europe by water volume, with a raw, unmanicured viewing area that puts you right on the edge.

It’s easy to default to cities and landmarks when planning a trip. Build one around a waterfall instead, at least once. The journey gives you a story, the destination gives you a feeling, and the combination of the two is what people actually remember about their best trips.

About the Author

Originally from Indiana, Heather believes every destination has a story worth telling and a reason to visit. With a deep love of adventure, history, and psychology, she shares travel trivia, tips, and inspiration to encourage you to explore the world with curiosity and optimism. Read her other articles on Frayed Passport here.

Featured image by Richard Dorran on Unsplash