Ten waterfalls from the Zambezi to the Rhine, ranked by height, flow and how close you can get, with the viewpoint and the month for each.
We ranked these ten as sights: height and volume from published surveys, such as UNESCO's and the US National Park Service's, and how close a visitor can get to the water. A tall falls seen only from far off ranks below one you can stand in the spray of.
The Zambezi drops over a basalt lip 1,708 m wide and up to 108 m high, the largest curtain of falling water in the world. Walk the rainforest path on the Zimbabwe side, which faces the falls across the gorge, and carry a raincoat in high water.
A semicircle of falls some 80 m high and 2.7 km across on the Argentina and Brazil border, by UNESCO's figures. Argentina's catwalks run out over the river to the lip of the Devil's Throat; give the Brazilian side a second day for the panorama of the whole arc.
The tallest waterfall in the world: 979 m in all, with an unbroken drop of about 807 m off the edge of Auyán-tepui. Reaching it means a flight to Canaima and hours upriver by motorised canoe in the wet season; read your government's travel advice first.
The Potaro River falls 226 m in a single drop into a sandstone gorge, deep in Kaieteur National Park. Day flights from Georgetown's Ogle airport land a short walk from the viewpoints; they depend on the weather, so keep a spare day.
The Horseshoe Falls curve across the Niagara River at about 51 m high, and no falls on this list is easier to stand beside. Take the boat into the spray at the base, then Journey Behind the Falls, where tunnels 38 m down open onto the back of the water.
At 740 m, by the National Park Service's figure, the tallest waterfall in Yosemite, falling in three sections down the valley wall. Flow peaks in May and the falls is often dry by late summer; the one-mile loop to Lower Yosemite Fall ends in its spray.
Sixteen terraced lakes joined by some 90 waterfalls, with the 78 m Veliki slap, Croatia's highest, at the foot of the Lower Lakes. Boardwalks run across the water itself; buy a timed ticket on the park's own site, since summer slots sell out.
The Hvítá drops 32 m in two steps into a gorge so narrow that the lower fall seems to vanish into the ground. It is an easy day trip from Reykjavik on the Golden Circle, and the upper path leads to the edge of the first drop.
The largest plain waterfall in Europe: about 600 cubic metres a second in summer over a drop of 23 m and 150 m wide. Boats run out to the rock in the middle of the falls, where steps climb to a platform; book ahead on summer weekends.
Three tiers of limestone cascades about 29 km south of Luang Prabang, the main drop about 50 m, the pools below a milky turquoise. Swim in the lower pools where the signs allow it, and stop at the Free the Bears sanctuary by the entrance.
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