Experience Niagara with the Maid of the Mist

Maid of the Mist, the famous boat tour of the Niagara is the oldest and best way to experience Niagara Falls. The Maid of the Mist tour is a signature boat cruise to the centre of the Horseshoe waterfalls and back to land.

The boat is named after a legendary woman of an ancient tribe settled in the Niagara area thousands of years ago.

I suggest you leave all electronic equipment at bay as the ponchos given for the tour will fly up in the rising winds and wet your bags and pants.

The Maid of the Mist first sails towards the American Falls where she docks for a few minutes. This gives you a complete view of the milk-like crystal waters falling from a towering height of around 15-18 stories and crashing into solid rock beds below.

The heavy white foam flowing around the rocks puts you in a strange kind of trance, interrupted by the formation of light glistening rainbows. Brave ducks and white gulls float non-chalantly on the surface of the wobbling water. You can see little yellow minion men and women braving the winds and water of the Bridal Veil Falls (the smallest waterfall at a corner of the American Falls) at the Cave of the Winds.

At the heart of the falls:

As the boat floats towards the larger and most sought-after Horseshoe Falls, your heartbeat rises a bit. Because all you can see first is a looming cloud of sky-high mist. And there’s no indication of where the falls end or where the water below begins. It’s almost like the waterfall pulls you into the cloud. And for a few seconds, you’re blinded by glistening water droplets and dew.

As far as the eye can see, mist is all that captures your attention first. Turn your head around a little (that will be hard as you will be mesmerized by the cloud of mist hugging you) and you will see the vertical ends of the Horseshoe Waterfalls – a wall of powdery white water, glistening like diamonds, rising 20 story high in a single stretch.

You sort of develop a newfound appreciation for gravity for giving you such a beautiful sight! The slow moving water falling effortlessly in a spell of foaming crystals.

The boat rocks back and forth on the twisting rapids below. It gives you a mind-blowing 270 degree view of nature’s greatest wonder. This is your selfie moment. The priceless ooh-and-ahh moment in the lap of the tigress, the Niagara. Suddenly, I felt so small and significant in the middle of this large chugging water wall.

Other New York attractions – The Empire State, Madame Tussauds Wax Museum and much more!