Drakensberg

The Drakensberg

Drakensberg Range from space, April 1993

The Drakensberg (Afrikaans for "Dragon Mountains") mountains are the highest in South Africa, rising up at Thabana Ntlenyana to 3,482 m (11,422 ft) in height. In isiZulu, they are referred to as uKhahlamba ("barrier of spears"), and in Sesotho as Maloti (commonly misspelt Maluti).

They are located in the eastern part of South Africa, running for some 1,000 km (600 mi) generally southwest to northeast, with a northwesterly bend forming the northeastern border of Lesotho with South Africa. They are drained on the west by the Orange and Vaal rivers, and on the east and south by a number of smaller rivers, the Tugela being the largest.The range thus separates KwaZulu-Natal Province from Free State Province, looming over the nearby coast of Natal.

The highest peak is Thabana Ntlenyana at 3,482 m (11,422 ft). Other notable peaks include Mafadi at 3,450 m, Makoaneng at 3,416 m, Champagne Castle at 3,377 m, Giant's Castle at 3,315 m, and Ben Macdhui at 3,001 m. All of these are in the area bordering on Lesotho; north of Lesotho the range gradually becomes lower and less rugged until entering Mpumalanga where the quartzite mountains of the Transvaal Drakensberg are probably more broken and challenging to both climber and hiker.

Geologically, the Drakensberg is a remnant of the original African plateau. The mountains are capped by a layer of basalt up to 1,500 m thick, with sandstone lower down, resulting in a combination of steep-sided blocks and pinnacles. Caves are frequent in the sandstone, and many have rock paintings by the Bushmen.

Snow falls regularly in the winter, while rains and mists can occur year-round.

Many of the Drakensberg peaks offer challenging mountaineering. While the major summits have all been conquered, a number of minor pinnacles have yet to be ascended. Hiking is also a popular activity. Navigation on long hikes is often aided by GPS receivers, and current maps distributed by KZN (KwaZulu-Natal) Wildlife uses the Cape datum as the geodesic reference. GPS users should be careful to use the correct datum as WGS 84 is not always the default.

Tourism in the Drakensberg is developing, with a variety of hotels and resorts appearing on the slopes. Most of the higher South African parts of the range have been designated as game reserves or wilderness areas. The uKhahlamba or Drakensberg National Park, located in KwaZulu-Natal, near the border with Lesotho, was listed by UNESCO in 2000 as a World Heritage site. The park is also in the List of Wetlands of International Importance (under the Ramsar Convention).

The most well known national park in the Drakensberg is the Royal Natal National Park. It contains the source of the Tugela river, and includes the 912 m high Tugela Falls, the second highest waterfall on earth. But it is the Central Drakensberg that offers tourists the best access to bushman rock art Kamberg and the largest range of hiking trails.

Panorama at Giant's Castle