The Devil’s Pool is the most terrifying tourist attraction ever

NO clever optical illusion here. These people are on the edge of the world’s largest waterfall. It’s actually a popular tourist spot.

THE only thing between these daring travellers and the 100 metre drop of the world’s largest waterfall is a slimy rock lip.

No, this isn’t clever photo trickery. It is called the Devil’s Pool and it is real and it is terrifying — and tourists are loving it. Travel is supposed to push your limits but this takes the phrase “living life on the edge” to a whole new meaning.

The Devil’s Pool is created each year at the fringes of Victoria Falls in Zambia when the dry season, from mid August to mid January, reduces water levels to create the rock pool, which has come to be known the “ultimate infinity pool”.

When the water levels drop, the natural rock walls created after thousands of years of erosion come close enough to the surface to form a barrier to stop swimmers being washed off the cliff with the 500 million litres of water a minute that cascade over the edge.

For the rest of the year, Zambia’s tourism website states, “anyone foolish enough to enter the waters would be instantly swept to their deaths”.

But once you get over how dangerous it seems, those who have been brave enough to enter the aptly named Devil’s Pool have described it as “exhilarating” and “majestic”.

The view from the edge is described as breathtaking and the force of the Zambezi flowing past you and crashing down over the precipice is described as thrilling. Victoria Falls has even been named as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.

The waterfall, which is classified as the world’s largest because of its combined width of 2km and height of 100m, also causes a spectacular explosion of spray which can be seen almost 50km away. This is why it is known locally as Mosi-oa-Tunya, or the Smoke that Thunders.

Enter, if you dare.