- HOME
- TRAVEL
Instagram’s Favourite Waterfalls: 10 Stunning Sights To Fall In Love With
We will not stick to the rivers and the lakes that we're used to
By | 2 years ago
Waterfalls are some of the world’s most incredible natural formations, created over long periods of time due to different forms of erosion. They are a marker of a long bygone era – like in the Lake District, for example, where landforms like waterfalls and valleys were created by ice ages over millions of years. Humans have long been enamoured with waterfalls, painting them and travelling for miles to witness the jaw-dropping natural beauty with their own eyes. 2022 is no different, with Instagram posts picturing waterfalls garnering plenty of likes and attention. Long haul travel specialists Travelbag have investigated which waterfalls attract the most attention on Instagram – here’s the top 10 to add to your bucketlist.
Read the C&TH Responsible Tourism Guide
Instagram’s Favourite Waterfalls: 10 Stunning Sights To Fall In Love With
10. Plitvice Lakes National Park
Croatia
Kicking off the list is the stunning National Park, Plitvice Lakes, situated in central Croatia. Here, the 16 lakes are connected by waterfalls, the tallest reaching 80 metres.
9. Snoqualmie Falls
Washington, USA
Situated in the US state of Washington, Snoqualmie Falls is an important spiritual site for the native Snoqualmie People who have lived in the Snowqualmie Valley for time immemorial. The site is a traditional burial site, and the mists from the waterfall are said to connect heaven and earth.
A viewing platform is easily accessible from a nearby carpark, and the landmark attracts millions of visitors annually – many of whom recognise the site as a filming location in the opening credits of TV series Twin Peaks.
(c) Yosemite Mariposa County Tourism Bureau
8. Bridalveil Falls
California, USA
Moving south down the west coast, Bridalveil Falls is another popular waterfall in the US, situated in California‘s Yosemite National Park. Flowing over 617 feet, Bridalveil is smaller than the nearby Yosemite Falls, but no less breathtaking.
7. Seljalandsfoss
Iceland
Those looking to get up close and personal with a beautiful waterfall, look no further: at Seljalandsfoss, visitors can slip into a cave behind the 60 metre waterfall to watch the cascading water from a unique vantage point.
6. Kawasan Falls
Philippines
Though smaller than many of the other waterfalls on this list, Kawasan Falls is no less beautiful. A multi-tiered system, the waterfalls cascade into turquoise pools that are a popular swim spot.
Image (c) Daniel Lazarov via Pexels.
5. Yosemite Falls
California, US
A close neighbour to Bridal Veil, Yosemite Falls is the largest waterfall in Yosemite National Park, dropping 2,425 feet. The waterfall can be viewed from the bottom, but it will take a long and strenuous hike to view it in all of its glory from the top.
4. Multnomah Falls
Oregon, USA
More on the west coast of the US, head to Oregon for Multnomah Falls, accessible from the Historic Columbia River Highway. Multnomah receives more than two million visitors every year – and it is easy to see why.
Named for the local Multnomah tribe, according to legend the waterfall is said to have been formed after a young woman sacrificed herself to the Great Spirit by jumping from the cliff in order to save the Multnomah village from a plague. Upon her death, the village was saved and water began to flow from the point she jumped, creating the waterfall.
3. Iguazu Falls
Brazil/Argentina Border
The Iguazu Falls system is the largest waterfall system in the world, situated on the Brazilian-Argentinian border and making for breathtaking, unparalleled views.
According to the legend of the Guarani tribe, a deity planned to marry a beautiful woman named Naipí, but she instead fled with her human lover, Tarobá, in a canoe. Enraged, the deity sliced the river in half, creating the waterfalls and condemning the rebel lovers to an eternal fall.
2. Mosi-Oa-Tunya Falls (Victoria Falls)
Zimbabwe/Zambia Border
Though this waterfall isn’t the world’s tallest or the widest, its combined width and height makes it the largest sheet of flowing water. David Livingstone gave the waterfall its common name, Victoria Falls, in honour of Queen Victoria in 1855, but the falls have been well-known to local tribes for millennia, and the Sotho language Mosi-Oa-Tunya name (meaning ‘the smoke that thunders’) is still in use in Zambia, though Zimbabwe has kept the Victoria name.
1. Niagara Falls
Canada/USA Border
It’s no surprise that the world’s most famous waterfall is also Instagram’s favourite. Niagara Falls is a system of three waterfalls spanning the border between Ontario, Canada and the state of New York in the US, draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario. With a 160 foot drop, at peak flow, a whopping 5.9 million cubic feet of water goes over the crest of the waterfall every minute.
Featured Image: Skogafoss waterfall, Iceland (c) Getty (cropped).
