Great Escarpment of South Africa
The Drakensberg Mountains, which is the eastern portion of the Great Escarpment of the central Southern African plateau, is known as a majestic playground in South Africa. Located in KwaZulu-Natal, the Drakensberg is a well-known and beloved maze of rugged beauty, suited to both the adventurer and the historian.
With ancient Bushman paintings in long-used caves, Boer war relics and accessible climbing peaks, the Drakensberg has it all. In the perceptual process of creation, the principal tools of nature have always been water, temperature and wind. There are numerous peaks, pinnacles, towers, spires, domes and walls to explore, with guided tours and multi-day adventures on offer throughout the area.
Holidaymakers wanting to escape into the natural wonder of South Africa need not look further than the Drakensberg. The area has several parks, nature reserves and rest camps made to meet the needs of any and all travelers. Whether visitors are on a romantic getaway, road tripping with friends, embarking on a solo adventure, or bringing the family along, accommodation in the Drakensberg promises to offer comfort tailored to the guests' needs.
The first people we know of to have inhabited the valleys round the base of Mdedelelo in the Drakensberg were Bushmen, then the amaZizi, who...
The first animals of the Drakensberg were mammal-like reptiles, creatures that predated the true dinosaurs by tens of millions of years, lik...
Forget about the things that grovel on the ground and lift your eyes to the heavens, from whence cometh the most beautiful sights of the mou...
Following the ravages of the impis of Shaka other warlords, the whole Drakensberg area was decimated. This occured in the 1820s and 30s, and...
Even before the Dutch settled at the Cape, the Drakensberg mountains had been identified by other explorers. In 1593 the Portuguese ship San...
One of the most significant events in the planet's geological past was when supercontinent Gondwana broke up and Africa drifted southwards....
The Drakensberg Experience is located in the midlands of the Kwazulu-Natal Province of South Africa. The route is centred on the Drakensberg...
One of the Drakensberg's greatest treasures its cultural heritage. In Ndedema Gorge 3 900 paintings have been recorded at 17 sites....
uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park is one of two UNESCO World Heritage Sites in South Africa with a mixed classification - due to its natural and c...
A name by which the Drakensberg's southernmost mountain is known as the Three Bushmen. Sehlaba-Thebe aptly means 'the shield', as the park i...
The route up to Champagne Castle is, in climbing terms, a doddle, but hikers know it as the exhausting Gray's Pass which was first done in 1...
The flora of the Drakensberg is broadly described as being Afro-montane in the Little Berg foothills and Afro-alpine on the summit. On a loc...
The geological composition of the Drakensberg is fairly simple to comprehend it's the time scale that's difficult to grasp. The escarpment a...
Only a wagon track ran up the Mlambonja Valley back in the day, and everything one needed for the building had to be carried up from the rai...
Giant’s Castle Camp rivals Thendele for its spectacular location above the Bushman’s River and hemmed in by daunting peaks....
Up to 1910 the Mlambonja, Didima and eMhlawazini valleys and all the valleys lying between Cathedral and Cathkin peaks were little known to ...
The mountain is appropriately called Thaba Ntsu, the Mountain of the Lammergeier, for this high-land wilderness is the subcontinent's only r...
Mthethwa Langalibalele, whose surname means 'the sun is boiling hot', was chief of the 10000-strong Hlubi tribe who lived peacefully in the ...
In the Mkhomazi region of the Drakensberg, a small and inexperienced party set out from Lotheni one sunny Friday in July, under the leadersh...
The Zulu names for the peaks tell of their awe: Giant’s Castle, for example, is known as Bhulihawu – the shield thrasher. There’s Cath...
In 1946 the intrepid veteran of the war in Italy David Alexander organised a pony trip up the steep bridle path to Sani Top in the Drakensbe...
The Zulus called them the barrier of upturned spears, uKhahlamba. As the Voortrekkers ventured forth, most of the names they bestowed upon g...
The Thukela (more commonly known as the Tugela) River rises as a chilly and pure stream from a seepage 'sponge' on the slopes of Mont-aux-So...
The uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park is not only home to a diverse range of fauna and flora, but also to a wide range of accommodation options....
The vegetation of the main Drakensberg range, between the Amphitheatre in the north and Giant's Castle in the south, is determined mainly by...
This is a walk that is seldom done but offers a wonderful Berg experience. The pass is an 'add-on' to the cave hike and although it is much ...