Drakensberg Mountains, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa

Hiking, rambling, fishing, golf and plenty of activities

View slideshow (5 photos)

Highlights of the Drakensberg Mountains

• The Drakensberg mountain resort hotels are perfect for families
• Stunning mountain hiking
• Walks to superb Bushmen rock art sites at Giants Castle & Kamberg
• Didima Rock Art Centre near Cathedral Peak
• Ardmore Pottery Studio and other arts & craft studios
• Drakensberg Boys Choir
• Horse-riding for beginners and experienced riders
• Midlands Meander Arts & Crafts route

The Drakensberg mountains, or ‘The ‘berg’, as South Africans call it, offers everything - from serious mountain hiking to gentle rambles beside crystal streams and through wooded glades.

Other delights of the Drakensberg mountains are its ancient Bushmen rock paintings at Giants Castle and Kamberg nature reserves; the guided 4x4 ascent to the top of Sani Pass in the rugged Kingdom of Lesotho; weekly musical recitals by the world-class Drakensberg Boys Choir, and the many arts and craft studios such as the famous Ardmore studios.

Choose between staying at one of the traditional mountain resort hotels such as Cathedral Peak or the Cavern Hotel or smaller country retreats such as Cleopatra Mountain Farmhouse, or Montusi Mountain Lodge. The former are perfect for keen hikers and families with their prime locations and excellent sporting facilities (such as horse-riding, tennis, bowls, even a nine hole golf course), whilst the country retreats offer an intimacy and tranquility, and in the case of Cleopatra, some of the best food in the country!

However the main pleasure of the Drakensberg mountains is the glorious walking on offer. The traditional mountain resort hotels offer a choice of daily walks with the hotel guide. These walks vary with gentle ambles on some days to full day hikes on others.

At the foothills of the Drakensberg mountains lie the Natal Midlands, offering a gentle beauty with rolling grasslands and picturesque river valleys. This is home to a number of charming country house hotels such as Hartford House on a horse stud farm, Fordoun Hotel & Spa and Karkloof Spa. Enjoy delicious food, pampering spa treatments as well as visits to unusual craft studios, art galleries, herb farms and charming country pubs on the well-known Midlands Meander route.