Attractions

The Panorama Route

One of the country's most scenic self-drives, the Panorama Route explores the Mpumalanga highlands or the north-eastern section of the Great Escarpment of the Drakensberg. In these rugged mountains, the plateau comes to an abrupt and dramatic halt, falling steeply away into the Lowveld accompanied by incredible views out over the grasslands of Africa.

The fresh mountain scenery and panoramic views over the Klein Drakensberg escarpment are quite spectacular and give the area its name of 'Panorama Route'. Viewpoints are named for the spectacle they offer, and God's Window and Wonder View hint at the magnitude of the scenery.

The 'Pinnacle' is a single quartzite column rising out of the deep wooded canyon and the ‘Three Rondavels' (also called 'Three Sisters’) are three huge spirals of dolomite rock rising out of the far wall of the Blyde River canyon. Their domed heads are iced in green and their sides are stained with fiery orange lichen. From the 'Three Rondavels' you can see the extensive Swadini Dam in the far distance, which marks the end of the reserve.

At the meeting point of the Blyde River (river of joy) and the Treur River (river of sorrow) water erosion has created one of the most phenomenal geological phenomenon in South Africa. The ‘Bourke’s Luck Potholes’ have taken thousands of years to form strange cylindrical sculptures carved by swirling water. The smooth red and yellow rocks contrast with the dark pools.

Barberton Makhonjwa Geotrail

South Africa’s tenth and newest World Heritage property was inscribed by UNESCO on 2 July 2018. It is only the fourth natural property in the country, since the others are cultural (5) and mixed (1) properties.

The World Heritage Site, covers an area of 113 137 ha and is located in the south-eastern corner of Mpumalanga province in South Africa.

The oldest well-preserved sequence of volcanic and sedimentary rocks spanning the time period of 3.5 – 3.2 billion years ago. The trail has 11 marked points, including Lebombo view which is 25km out on the trail. This is a beautiful lookout showcasing fascinating rock formations and is perfect for a picnic. There are no toilets or cellular phone reception on the route, but travellers with passports can cross the border into Swaziland and visit the excellent mining museum just 2km from the border where there are toilet facilities and a restaurant.

Known officially as the Barberton Makhonjwa (after the mountains behind Barberton) Geotrail, this self-drive route is a 38 km exploration of ancient rock formations that date from the Archaean period, more than three billion years ago. These are no ordinary rocks. The discovery on the mountains behind Barberton has become known as 'the history of our planet cast in stone'.

And so the history of life on earth, involving several key geological elements, is now available for anyone to view. Now 11 geosites, each with its own information board, along with braille labels, describes the different geological elements.

Sudwala Caves

The Sudwala Caves are part of the Malmani Dolomite Ridge, in turn part of the Drakensberg escarpment, near Nelspruit in Mpumalanga. They are solutional caves – that is to say they were formed by natural acid in groundwater seeping through faults and joins, and dissolving rock. This most often occurs when the rock is dolomite rock and/or limestone. The caves themselves formed about 240 million years ago. They are the oldest caves in the world.

Kaapsehoop

The historic mining village of Kaapsehoop is situated about 25 kilometers from the town of Nelspruit. The Kaapsehoop area offers exceptionally beautiful landscapes, complete with gushing waterfalls, indigenous forests and rugged hillsides.

Up to 200 feral horses enjoy the freedom of the 17,000 hectares around Kaapsehoop and are loyally protected by locals. The breed of the horses seems to be predominantly Boerperd and herd sizes range from small bachelor herds of 3 or 4, to structured herds of more than 20 horses.