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The Northern Drakensberg

The Northern Drakensberg is the source of the Tugela River, the largest river in the Province, and it plunges some 950 meters over the edge of the Mont-aux-Sources Plateau in a spectacular waterfall. This waterfall, the Tugela Falls, is the second highest waterfall in the world. The Amphitheatre is possibly the most photographed feature of the Northern Drakensberg.

The Northern Drakensberg escarpment is frequently covered in snow in the winter months, transforming the area into a picture-postcard winter wonderland. Popular with hikers, rock climbers, trout fishermen, and other holidaymakers, the area offers a wide range of hotels, country lodges, and bed and breakfast accommodation venues, as well as camping sites and caravan parks. For the more adventurous there are also many trails which use caves up in the mountains as overnight stops. A weekend of hiking and climbing, interspersed with dips in the icy pools and rivers, goes a long way to restoring those weary of city life.

Most of the Northern Drakensberg makes up the Natal Drakensberg Park, a wilderness area with an abundance of wildlife. Hikers are frequently surprised by bushbuck, oribi, mountain reedbuck, tiny duiker, and the largest of South Africa’s antelope species, the eland, as well as many others. Enormous lammergeier, or bearded vultures, fly overhead and baboons bark from the cliffs. The spring is heralded by carpets of wild flowers and the pink and orange watsonia, like miniature gladioli, bloom thickly on the hillsides. In autumn the fields and lower reaches of the Drakensberg are often a waist-high sea of confetti-like pink, white and deep velvet red cosmos blossoms. In the higher reaches on the slopes of the Little Berg, varieties of protea trees show their prehistoric flowers, and ancient tree ferns and the odd cycad dot the gullies. Hikers should note that there are 24 species of snakes in these mountains, and not all of them are willing to give way to humans!

The Northern Drakensberg Mountains also contain thousands of Bushman painting sites, evidence of the small, primitive San people who practised a prehistoric life style in the area long ago. The earliest of these paintings are about 800 years old, and the golden age of the painters was between 400 and 200 years ago.

Regions of the Northern Drakensberg

• Mont-aux-Sources, Royal Natal National Park, Amphitheatre, Rugged Glen Nature Reserve
• Singati Valley, Ifidi, Mnweni & Ntonjelana valleys, the Mnweni cutback, Mponjwane, the Saddle

Northern Drakensberg Links

• Accommodation in the Northern Drakensberg from Drakensberg Tourism - The largest selection of accommodation in the Northern Drakensberg available. Each accommodation has it own page with a good description and pictures of the rooms, the establishment and the view. It makes deciding on a place really easy.

• Accommodation in the Northern Drakensberg from SafariNow.Com - A small selection of Central Drakensberg accommodation which is bookable online using a credit card. The system is quick and easy to use.

• Request information about accommodation in the Northern Drakensberg This central reservations office based in the Drakensberg is a great resource for finding those lesser known places especially in peak periods like Easter and Christmas.

• The Northern Drakensberg - Information from Drakensberg Tourism

• Northern Drakensberg South Africa  - Information from the Antbear Guest House

• Northern Drakensberg tours and accommodation . Information from South Africa Tours

• Northern Drakensberg - And some more Northern Drakensberg Infomation

• The towns and places of the Drakensberg

Drakensberg Boys Choir School | Hiking Maps of the Drakensberg | Drakensberg and Natal Midlands Weddings | Drakensberg day walks and walking trails | Fauna and flora of the Drakensberg - A treasure chest | Links to Drakensberg Tourism Partners |