Waterfall Myths and Legends Around the World
Every culture with a waterfall has a story about it. The thunder, the spray, the disappearing water — these features invite mythology. This guide tells eight tales from around the world and the falls they explain.
Angel Falls / Kerepakupai-merú
The Pemón name 'Kerepakupai-merú' means 'waterfall of the deepest place'. Pemón tradition holds the tepui as the home of the mawari spirits — the falls are the spirits' tears at human encroachment on their plateau.
Victoria Falls / Mosi-oa-Tunya
The Lozi name 'Mosi-oa-Tunya' means 'the smoke that thunders'. Lozi tradition holds the falls as the home of the river god Nyaminyami, whose anger creates the spray and the danger of crocodiles below.
Sutherland Falls and the Māori taniwha
Lake Quill, source of Sutherland Falls, has Māori traditions of taniwha — water-dwelling guardian spirits. Local iwi (tribes) ask permission before guides take groups to the lake's outflow.
Goðafoss and the Christianisation
When Iceland adopted Christianity at the Althing in 1000 AD, the lawspeaker Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði threw his pagan idols (carvings of Thor, Odin) into Goðafoss — the 'waterfall of the gods'. Symbolic.
Cherokee falls of the Appalachians
Cherokee tradition holds several Smoky Mountain falls as 'Yunwi Tsundi' — places where the Little People (mountain spirits) live. Falls like Mingo and Hen Wallow are still places of respect.
Devi's Fall, Pokhara
Pokhara's Patale Chhango is named after a Swiss tourist (Mrs Davis or Davi) who drowned there in 1961. Local tradition has the falls as a passage to the underworld, hence 'patale' (underworld).
The Lorelei and the Rhine
Not a waterfall but a related German tradition: the Loreley is a 132-metre slate cliff on the Rhine where a siren is said to sing, distracting boatmen who then crash into the rapids below. Heine's 1824 poem made the legend famous.
Pongour and the king's daughter
Vietnamese legend holds Pongour Falls as the place where K'Ho princess Ka-Nai bathed with her four-headed rhinoceros guardian. She is honoured each full-moon festival in the first lunar month.
See them all in one view
All of these are pinned on our interactive map.