Best Plunge Waterfalls in the World
A 'plunge' waterfall is the textbook type: water leaving the cliff lip cleanly and falling free until it hits the pool. The geology is reliable — a hard caprock above softer rock, where erosion has cut a vertical face. These ten are some of the world's best examples. All on the map.
1. Angel Falls, Venezuela
979 metres — the world's tallest, plunging from the Auyán-tepui in the Gran Sabana. Most of the water atomises into mist before reaching the base.
2. Tugela Falls, South Africa
948 metres in five tiers down the Drakensberg amphitheatre — the world's second-tallest single-stream plunge.
3. Vinnufossen, Norway
860 metres from the Vinnu glacier into Sunndal — Europe's tallest fall. Visible from the E69 across the fjord.
4. Olo'upena Falls, Hawaii
900 metres on a remote north Molokai sea cliff — accessible only by helicopter. Pure plunge from rainforest plateau to ocean.
5. Yosemite Falls, USA
Three drops totalling 739 metres in Yosemite Valley. The upper fall is a pure 436-metre plunge from the granite rim.
6. Browne Falls, New Zealand
836 metres on Doubtful Sound, fed by Lake Browne. Visible from cruise ships; one of the world's tallest non-glacier plunges.
7. Skógafoss, Iceland
60 metres, 25 metres wide on Iceland's south coast — the textbook 'tall narrow plunge' photo. Stairs to the upper viewpoint.
8. Kaieteur Falls, Guyana
226 metres but 100 metres wide — five times Niagara's height with significant volume. Sandstone caprock plunge from the Pakaraima plateau.
9. Sutherland Falls, New Zealand
580 metres in three jumps from Lake Quill on the Milford Track. Pre-Browne discovery (1880), once thought NZ's tallest.
10. Nohkalikai Falls, India
340 metres off the Cherrapunji plateau — India's tallest plunge. Caprock geology of resistant sandstone over weaker shale.
Where will you go first?
All of these are pinned on our interactive map.