The 12 best bucket-list waterfalls

The thundering power of a waterfall is a magnificent display of nature in the raw. Hardly surprising that they were considered sacred by our ancestors. So which ones should you visit?

Victoria Falls is not the tallest or widest waterfall in the world, but it is the largest - thanks to sheer volume it’s the largest sheet of falling water. Two countries share this UNESCO World Heritage site, but it's most dramatic seen from the Zimbabwe side, followed by a walk across the Victoria Falls Bridge which crosses the Zambesi river just below the falls, to view it from Zambia. You can enjoy both at once on a helicopter ride, known as the 'flight of angels'. When I went an American tourist next to me commented, "Compared to this, Niagara is like a dripping faucet''. Go white-water rafting for extra thrills and dine at the Victoria Falls Hotel for Edwardian-style elegance.

Victoria Falls

The countries: Zimbabwe and Zambia

The stats: 1,708m wide, 108m high

The trip: In the Footsteps of Livingstone

Marilyn Monroe chose Niagara as her co-star in the 1952 film of that name. This borders Ontario in Canada and New York State in the US. The largest of three waterfalls is called Horseshoe or Canadian Falls – though President Trump may well rename this 'American Falls'. You can take a boat ride behind the thundering sheets of water and peer into the tunnels behind.

Niagara Falls

The countries: USA and Canada

The stats: 323.08m wide, 53.6m high

The trip: The Delights of New England with Niagara Falls

The wettest place on Earth may not sound appealing, but when it comes to waterfalls, that's a bonus, and it's only in monsoon time that you'll be drenched. At Elephant Falls in Meghalaya, North-East India, I was able to walk from top to bottom along a well made, railed path alongside, to see the three tiers close up, and then swim in the clear, calm pool at the base. This is near the living root bridges, formed from the roots of India rubber trees fed through hollowed-out trunks which, over 25 years, form a solid mat strong enough to carry villagers when the ground is flooded. It's fun to walk along them – some are even double-decker.

Elephant Falls

The country: India

The stats: 15m wide, 30m high

Venezuela's Angel Falls are not named after its heavenly aspect but after an American pilot, James Angel, who crash-landed there in 1937. With no road access, you arrive by boat and stay overnight in hammocks under the stars, which all adds up to an ethereal experience. Though gushing forth from a narrow gap in a plateau, it is 16 times the height of Niagara. While you're there, hike or boat to more waterfalls nearby and swim in the thermal pools.

Angel Falls

The country: Venezuela

The stats: 150m wide, 979m high

Iceland's Gullfoss or 'Golden Falls' is just 72 miles by road from the capital, Reykjavik, so over a long weekend I was also able to fit in a snowmobile ride, and 'float' on the Blue Lagoon, with waiters serving in-water cocktails. These Falls are unusual in that there are two drops, one measuring 11 metres and the other 21 metres. There are several viewing platforms so you can get good views of the cascade and the canyon below. You don't have to travel far to experience geysers erupting, as there are nearly 30 still active.

Gulfoss

The country: Iceland

The stats: 175m wide, 32m high

The trip: Icelandic Adventure

You will hear Iguazú Falls long before you see them. Straddling the Argentina/Brazil border, they have the greatest number of individual cascades, numbering 275, which make this also the largest waterfall system in the world. The showstopper is The Devil's Throat, where various branches of the river converge, creating a stunning spectacle of 14 waterfalls 82m high. You can take a white-water boat trip, or a more sedate cruise around and sometimes under the thundering torrents of water.

Iguazu Falls

The countries: Argentina and Brazil

The stats: 2,700m wide, 80m high

The trip: South American Discovery Cruise & Tour with Iguazu Falls

Now you see it, now you don't... Milford Sound on New Zealand's South Island is fascinating for the sudden appearance and disappearance of waterfalls, depending on rainfall. Staring at them in the rain – a bracing, refreshing experience – you can't imagine them drying up, but that's what happens after days of sunshine. You're guaranteed, however, to see two permanent falls: Lady Bowen, the largest, and Stirling, where Hugh Jackman jumped off in the film Wolverine. A boat trip takes you right to the base, while an overnight cruise allows more time for immersing yourself in nature, spotting crested penguins and fur seals. You can even kayak to edge nearer to the sheer rockface or, if you want to stay dry, visit the underwater observatory for the sight of rare black coral and marine life.

Milford Sound

The country: New Zealand

The stats: width not recorded; 162m high (Lady Bowen)

The trip: Queenstown & Milford Sound Discovery Package

You get more bang for your buck at Murchison Falls, eastern Uganda. It claims to be the most powerful in the world because of the pressure caused by water squeezing through a very narrow gap into the canyon below. I visited at the end of a gorilla-tracking adventure to cool off for a few days at Jinja, the source of the White Nile, 'discovered' by John Hanning Speke in 1862. En route, a photostop has to be the Equator, to place one foot in each hemisphere. As you approach the Falls, there's a wealth of wildlife to see in the National Park: elephant, Cape buffalo, lion, leopard, and rare birdlife. There's white-water rafting, too – but beware the Nile crocodiles. What better value than to have waterfalls, wildlife and watersports all in one?

Murchison Falls

The country: Uganda

The stats: 7m wide, 43m high

Near the magnificent Mayan temples and pyramids of Palenque in Mexico are the Roberto Barrios Falls – actually five of them connected by a river in the midst of dense jungle. The colours of the lush vegetation are reflected in the clear, turquoise pools at the base, where I swam and others enjoyed snorkelling. It's the perfect end to a day exploring the incredible archaeology of the country, with more sacred sites being unearthed each year.

Roberto Barrios Falls

The country: Mexico

The stats: 150m wide, 35m high

The trip: Mexico's Mayan Trail

Croatia's Plitvice Lakes offer great hiking trails to explore a system of 16 named and several smaller, unnamed lakes, each one cascading into the next. It's a formidable sight, surrounded by pristine forest, natural grassland and bog – a nature lover's paradise. The most impressive, and highest cascade is Veliki Slap (Large Waterfall). The less energetic may ride on an electric boat or in a panoramic vehicle.

Veliki Slap

The country: Croatia

The stats: width not recorded, 78m high

The trip: Classic Croatia - Star of the Adriatic

Arriving in the early evening by boat and funicular (Europe's oldest) at the 19th-century Grandhotel Giessbach, near Interlaken in Switzerland, I opened the curtains in my elegantly furnished room to see a gushing waterfall right in front of me. What an introduction to this region of fairytale forests, fascinating trails (including one that lets you walk behind the waterfall) and water, water everywhere. Giessbach Falls tumble down 14 steps into the crystal-clear waters of Lake Brienz. It was this area that inspired Arthur Conan Doyle's scene where Sherlock Holmes fights to the death with Moriarty in The Final Problem.

Giessbach Falls

The country: Switzerland

The stats: width not recorded; 400m high (disputed)

One observer described Horsetail Fall in Yosemite National Park, California, 'like molten gold slowly pouring down from the mountains'. The cataract that thinks it's a volcano turns orange and yellow when the sun is at a certain angle, making it look like a stream of fiery lava flowing down the side of El Capitan. Known as the Firefall, this optical illusion occurs at sunset over three weeks in February and lasts for 10 minutes. But if you miss this, there are more than two dozen waterfalls in the park, including Yosemite Falls, the tallest in North America.

Horsetail Fall

The country: USA

The stats: width not recorded, 480m high The country:

The trip: California and the Golden West

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