Boma dinner and drum show: how to book

What a boma is, and what you're booking

A boma is an enclosure where people gather. The word is used across eastern and southern Africa for a livestock pen, a community enclosure or a small stockade, and it is closely linked to community decision-making. The Boma at Victoria Falls is a dinner-and-drum evening held in an enclosure on the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge estate, about 3 km (2 miles) from the town centre. You book the evening itself: a four-course meal with live entertainment and an interactive drumming finale. It is a dinner and show, not a tour. Other venues in town also use "boma" in their names, so check the venue named on your booking.

How the evening runs

The Boma's own pages describe one evening in a set order. Traditional dancers welcome you, you are wrapped in a chitenge, a printed cloth worn like a sarong, and you get a mini face paint. Guests also take part in a hand-washing ceremony before dinner. During the meal, entertainment moves around the room. After dinner comes the drumming show, then the dance floor opens, and a cappella singers close the evening at your table. The booking calendar and your confirmation show the start time for your date.

• Welcome: dancers, chitenge, face paint
• Dinner: four courses, with entertainment between them
• Drumming: every guest is handed a djembe
• Close: the dance floor, then a cappella singers

Three ways to book

You can book through the booking link on this site, book direct with the Boma, or, if you stay on the estate, sign the meal to your room. Direct bookings go through the Boma's own reservations page, phone or email. Guests of the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, Safari Club and Safari Suites can charge their meals at the Boma to their room, and the lodge and club recommend their shuttle for the trip. A booking platform gives you one place to compare options and keep your confirmation. Booking direct sends your questions and changes to the Boma itself. Change and cancellation terms belong to whoever you book with, so read them before you pay.

What to check before you pay

The booking page shows the details of your exact option, and options can differ. Take a minute over these points first. The Boma's own pages describe the evening, but they don't say what a third-party booking includes, so the booking page is the place to confirm it. Keep your confirmation: it shows your time and your reference, and you will want it handy on the way there.

• The date and the number of guests
• Whether hotel pickup is part of your option; if it isn't listed, plan your own ride both ways
• Whether drinks are included or bought on the night
• Cancellation and change terms
• Any dietary needs you want to flag

Do you need to book ahead?

The Boma says it is open for dinner every day and that reservations are strongly recommended. It suggests booking the Boma when you book the rest of your Victoria Falls itinerary. Its own pages have flagged specific dates as fully booked and named the year-end festive season as a time when space runs short. If your dates are fixed, book as soon as you can. If they may move, read the cancellation terms first, because they depend on where you book.

Food, dietary needs and the kosher question

The meal is built as four courses: a shared starter platter, soup from the campfire, a braai (barbecue) buffet and a dessert bar. The Boma's FAQ says vegetarian and halal guests are catered for. It asks guests to give other dietary requirements or allergies in advance or on arrival, so the chefs can plan. It does not prepare kosher meals on site and has no kosher supervisor. Guests who need strictly kosher food are told to bring their own labelled meals, which staff reheat and serve. The Boma charges for the entertainment even when guests eat their own meals.

The drumming finale

After dinner, each guest is handed a djembe and given the chance to learn a few rhythms. The Boma calls it an interactive drumming show, and the dance floor opens afterwards. The djembe itself is not a Zimbabwean drum. It is a goblet-shaped drum played with bare hands, traditionally linked to the Mali Empire region of West Africa. Its name comes, according to the Bambara people of Mali, from a saying meaning "everyone gather together in peace". Zimbabwe's own instruments include the mbira, ngoma drums and the hosho, a percussion instrument.

Read next: Getting to the Boma and what to wear

The mopane worm challenge

The Boma offers an optional challenge: a sautéed mopane worm, with a certificate as proof that you tried it. The mopane worm is the caterpillar of an emperor moth, Gonimbrasia belina. It is called madora in Shona and macimbi in Ndebele. Across southern Africa it is an important source of protein, hand-picked in season, often by women and children, then boiled and salted, and dried or smoked. It is a food people eat, not a stunt, so treat the offer as you would any local dish. If it isn't for you, you can pass.

Getting there, in short

The Boma is about 3 km from Victoria Falls town, and the lodge says you can't walk between the estate and town, because the road runs through the national park. That makes the ride part of the booking decision. Guests staying on the estate have its shuttle. Everyone else needs a taxi or pickup both ways, so check your option's details and agree the ride home before you leave your hotel. The practical guide covers transport, what to wear by season, language and money.

Read next: Getting to the Boma and what to wear

Who this isn't for

Skip it if you want a quiet, candlelit dinner. This is a large, communal evening, with entertainment moving around the room and souvenir sellers and carvers on site. Skip it if you need strictly kosher food prepared on the premises. Think twice if you don't want to be invited to join in, because the finale puts a drum in every guest's hands. And if anyone in your group needs step-free access, ask before you book: the official pages don't describe access.