Drakensberg Mountains

'Sightseeing and hiking are the main activities, although horse riding, pony trekking, fly-fishing, game viewing, mountain biking, kloofing, abseiling, rock climbing and bird watching are on offer'

Size & Location: running for some 1000km along KwaZulu-Natal's western boundary
When to visit the park: All year round. Autumn months (April - May) are most pleasant but cold
Climate: Night temp drops below 10°C, heavy snowfalls in winter. Hot summer days (32°C)
Rainfall: approx. 740mm - 1000mm per annum with thunderstorms in summer
Altitude: Up to 3482m above sea level

PARK INFORMATION:

The name, derived from the Dutch means "mountains of the dragon". Most of the mountain range is located in the KwaZulu-Natal Province although this range does extent all the through to the Limpopo Province. Lesotho, located on the plateau above the Drakensberg, well worth a visit via Sani Pass in the south. Locals and travelers alike refer to the Drakensberg as "The Berg".

Northern Drakensberg: Hiking in & around the "amphitheatre". At the base of the amphitheatre is the Royal Natal National Park, known for excellent hiking and accommodation. A must hike is the Tugela Falls Gorge Walk, approximately 22 kilometers of relatively flat terrain offering awesome views of the amphitheatre, surrounding mountains combined with the fresh air & water makes for a real treat. A two day hike or helicopter flight will take you to the second highest water fall on the planet (Tugela Falls).

Central Drakensberg: The Giants Castle Game Reserve is one of the more famous reverses in this area offering stunning hiking trails, bushman paintings and lets not forget the fly-fishing on offer (some of the best in South Africa - year round)

Southern Drakensberg: Sani Pass is the highlight of this area, a eight kilometer mountain pass that can only be traversed by four wheel drive vehicles. While traveling these eight kilometers you will be in "no mans land" as the South African border post lies at the bottom and the Lesotho border post lies at the top (although technically you will be in South Africa).

Mammals are mostly antelope more commonly seen klipspringer, mountain reedbuck, eland - sighting of leopard have been recorded but extremely rare.

250 species of birds have been recorded including Mountain pipit, bush blackcap, buff-streaked chat, Rudd's lark, orange-breasted rockjumper, yellow-breasted pipit, Drakensberg siskin, The southern bald ibis, Cape vulture, wintering lesser kestrel.

ACCOMMODATION AND SAFARIS THAT INCORPORATES THE DRAKENSBERG AREA OF SOUTH AFRICA
GAME AND SAFARI LODGES	SAFARIS AND TOURS
ALPINE HEATH	MAJESTIC DRAKENSBERG AND LESOTHO TOUR - 4 DAYS
MONTUSI MOUNTAIN LODGE	SANI PASS/LESOTHO TOUR - FULL DAY
DRAKENSBERG SUN	DRAKENSBERG WORLD HERITAGE TOUR - FULL DAY
THREE TREE HILL LODGE
CLEOPATRA MOUNTAIN FARMHOUSE
DRAKENSBERG GARDENS