A mixed natural and cultural UNESCO World Heritage Site, uKhahlamba-Drakensberg is Africa’s largest protected montane wilderness, running for more than 100 miles along the border with Lesotho. The imperious Afro-montane landscapes make it a popular destination with hikers and ramblers, but uKhahlamba-Drakensberg also protects a wealth of prehistoric rock art and a long list of endemic plants and animals. 

Reasons to visit uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park

The majesty of uKhahlamba-Drakensberg is encapsulated by the Amphitheatre, a 3-mile long escarpment of burnished sandstone that dominates the skyline of Royal Natal National Park. The popular and relatively undemanding Gorge Trail leads to the base of the Amphitheatre, where the Thukela Falls tumbles a total of 3,100ft over five stages.

Wildlife sometimes seen by hikers includes eland, bushbuck, mountain reedbuck, grey rhebok, grey duiker, Chacma baboons and up to 300 bird species, notably cliff-associated raptors such as Verreaux’s eagle, jackal buzzard, Cape vulture and lammergeyer. 

One of the world’s most important alfresco prehistoric rock art galleries, uKhahlamba-Drakensberg contains at least 500 painted caves and shelters adorned with a total of 50,000 individual images. Two of the best and most accessible rock art sites are Main Cave in Giant’s Castle and Game Pass Shelter in the Kamberg

The easiest day hike to the top of the 11,000ft escarpment, the Chain Ladder Trail includes a vertiginous ascent of two long chain ladders and offers sensational views from the lip of the Thukela Falls as it crashes over the Amphitheatre.

The only motorable road to breach the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg, 4×4-only Sani Pass follows a series of switchbacks uphill to a remote, windswept Lesotho border post set at an altitude of 9,400m. Commercial day trips up Sani Pass leave every morning from the town of Underberg.