Skip to content
Contact
Contact

Experience

Dinner and Drums at the Boma

An evening of food, song and drumming at Victoria Falls: a chitenge wrapped round you at the door, game off the braai, and a drum of your own by the end.

At a glanceOn land
How longAn eveningAn evening, about three hours with transfers
How hardNoneSitting, eating and drumming; dancing only if you choose
SeasonYear-roundRuns year-round

You know the word from home. A boma is an enclosure, the thorn fence around a homestead, and at Victoria Falls it means an evening round a fire with food, music and, before long, a drum of your own. It starts at the door, where someone wraps you in a chitenge, the printed cloth a Kenyan would call a kitenge, and shows you to your table.

The food comes first, and plenty of it. Soup from a pot over the fire, then salads, local dishes and game from the braai, grilled while you watch, with vegetarian dishes alongside for anyone who does not eat meat. Try the things you have not had before, and ask at the braai what each one is. Leave room for pudding.

Then the music. A troupe of singers and dancers performs through the evening, loud, practised and worth putting your fork down for. At some point a drum appears in front of you, and a drummer at the front takes the whole room through a rhythm, one beat at a time, until a crowd of strangers is playing together and mostly in time.

Around the edges there is more going on between courses: a storyteller, a face painter, someone braiding hair, and a fortune teller at a table of their own. Wander between them.

It is a show, and it knows it is a show. The performers are professionals and the evening is put on for visitors, which is not a criticism. Taken on those terms it is a warm, generous night out, and a good way to end a day at the falls. If you want the quieter, more personal version of a Zimbabwean meal, a home-hosted meal in Chinotimba is the other end of the scale.

Put it after a sunset cruise and you have the whole evening: the river at dusk, then dinner and drums. It suits the first or second night of a stay, before the early starts for rafting or Chobe.

Good to know

  • We arrange the transfer from your hotel in Victoria Falls town and confirm the pick-up time.
  • Vegetarian dishes are part of the buffet. Tell us about allergies or other diets in advance.
  • Dress is relaxed. The chitenge goes over whatever you are wearing.
  • The drumming is for everyone, children included. Nobody is marking you.
  • Some extras, such as the fortune teller or the hair braiding, may be paid for on the night. We confirm what is included.

Listed daily on request at 19:00, about three hours with hotel transfers included, as a buffet dinner with vegetarian dishes. The menu on the night, which drinks are included, and whether face painting, hair braiding and fortune telling are included or paid separately are to be confirmed. We confirm what applies to your dates in writing before you pay anything.

By the second song the whole room is drumming, including the people who said they would not.

Where to do it

Where we arrange dinner and drums at the boma

Start from the destination, and we will build the days around this.

Or browse every itinerary andthe rest of the experiences.

Questions we are actually asked

What is a chitenge?
A length of printed cotton cloth, worn as a wrap: the same cloth you know as a kitenge. At the Boma one is wrapped round you as you arrive, which sets the tone for the evening. You are part of it rather than watching from a chair.
Is there food for vegetarians?
Yes. Vegetarian dishes sit on the buffet alongside the game and the local dishes. Tell us about any allergy or stricter diet when we book, so the kitchen knows before you arrive.
Is it good for children?
Very. It is loud, busy and hands-on, with drums to play and faces to paint, and it starts early enough in the evening for a family. It runs about three hours with the transfers.
Is it a cultural evening or a show?
Both, honestly. The performers are professionals and the evening is staged for visitors, which is why it runs every night. The songs, the dances and the food are Zimbabwe's own. Take it as a warm night out rather than a documentary, and it is a very good one.

Keep reading

Where to go next

Each of these answers one of the questions this page opens.

Ask us about dinner and drums at the boma

Dates and how many of you is enough to start. We reply within one working day.

Plan your journey

Tell us a little; we’ll do the rest. One of our travel designers replies within one working day.

When would you like to travel? (a rough month is fine)

“Honeymoon in September, two of us, bush then beach…” A sentence is plenty.

We’ll only use your details to reply to you. See our Privacy Policy.

Back to topChat on WhatsApp

Resident hotel ratesContracted KSh rates, filtered by region, month and boardCan’t find it? Just ask.Flights, stays anywhere, groups, cruises: tell us what you’re after and we’ll price it.