South Africa: Driving South Africa’s Scenic Panorama Route

October 14, 2023
Mpumalanga
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🗺️ Driving South Africa’s Panorama Route

We’d done our homework before heading to South Africa, and the Panorama Route kept jumping out at us as something we absolutely couldn’t miss. So we planned ahead and booked a couple of nights in the little town of Graskop specifically so we’d have a proper base from which to tackle it. Good decision, as it turned out.

The Panorama Route is a roughly 160-kilometre stretch of road that winds its way through the Mpumalanga province of South Africa, following the line of the Drakensberg Escarpment — that dramatic edge where the South African highveld drops away spectacularly towards the lowveld below. The name Drakensberg, incidentally, comes from the Afrikaans for “Dragon’s Mountains,” which gives you some idea of the scale of what you’re dealing with. The route itself has been pulling in visitors since the 1970s and it’s not hard to understand why — it consistently gets ranked among the most scenic drives on the entire African continent, if not the world. There are viewpoints, geological curiosities, historic towns and canyon vistas strung along the way like beads on a rather impressive necklace.

The star of the show for most of the route is the Blyde River Canyon, which forms the dramatic backdrop to many of the most jaw-dropping viewpoints. It stretches for about 25 kilometres (16 miles) and plunges to an average depth of around 750 metres (2,460 feet). Depending on which source you consult, it’s generally regarded as the third-largest canyon in the world — after the Grand Canyon in Arizona and the Fish River Canyon in Namibia — and it is, without question, the largest green canyon on earth, in that it’s largely subtropical and covered in lush vegetation rather than bare rock. The Blyde River, which carved this thing out over millions of years, eventually joins the Olifants River further downstream on its way to the Mozambique Channel. So yes — we were quite keen to see it.

The morning we set out from Graskop, the weather looked promising enough. Blue skies, bit of warmth in the air — we were feeling good about the day. That optimism took a knock fairly sharpish when we pulled up at our first intended stops, God’s Window and the Pinnacle. The clouds had absolutely planted themselves on top of the escarpment and there was precisely nothing to see. Just a wall of grey. We stood there for a moment like a couple of lemons, then made the sensible call to push on up the road towards Bourke’s Potholes and come back later in the hope the cloud would shift.

🌀 Bourke’s Potholes

By the time we rolled up to Bourke’s Potholes, the clouds had done the decent thing and cleared off entirely. It was now a proper warm, sunny morning and we were back in business. One thing worth knowing before you head out on the Panorama Route is that every single attraction charges a separate entry fee. There is no combined pass or day ticket that covers the lot, which can catch you out if you’re not expecting it. Budget accordingly.

So, what exactly are Bourke’s Potholes? Well, they’re the result of an extraordinarily long process of geological violence — albeit the slow, watery kind. At this spot, the Treur River (whose name means “mourning” in Afrikaans, which is a bit gloomy) tumbles into the Blyde River (meaning “joy,” rather pleasingly), and the confluence of the two has created, over many millions of years, a series of extraordinary cylindrical formations carved directly into the rock. What happens is that the swirling eddies of water trap stones and grit, which spin around and around in the current, grinding out these perfectly rounded pots in the bedrock. The technical term is “pothole erosion” or “giant’s kettles,” and the results here are genuinely spectacular — deep, smooth-sided rock bowls and tubes that look for all the world like something an alien civilisation might have left behind. We half expected to find a plaque explaining they were built by the same lot who did Stonehenge.

The spot gets its name from a gold prospector called Tom Burke (the “Bourke” spelling is a variation that stuck), who staked a mining claim near here back in the 1870s during the great Transvaal gold rush. Burke’s claim turned out to be an expensive disappointment — he didn’t pull a single ounce of gold out of the ground. However, he had the consolation of being proved right when he predicted that significant gold deposits would eventually be found in the surrounding area, which they were. The Pilgrim’s Rest goldfields, just up the road, became one of the most productive in the Transvaal. So Burke was vindicated, just not personally enriched. As is the way of things.

To get the most out of the Potholes, the park has laid out a series of well-maintained boardwalks that take you right down into the narrow canyon passages and out over the swirling water below. Some of these boardwalks extend out as bridges directly above the river gorge, which is magnificent if you have a head for heights and rather less so if you don’t. We were there towards the tail end of the dry season — late winter in southern hemisphere terms — so the water level was lower than it would be after the summer rains, which actually worked in our favour when it came to seeing the potholes themselves. When the river is running high after heavy rainfall, the formations disappear under the water. The dry season is when you get the best look at the sculptural detail. The entire trail runs to about 700 metres, so it’s a very manageable walk — we took around 30 minutes, stopping regularly to have a proper look and take photographs, which is the right way to approach it.

🏞️ Blyde River Canyon Viewpoint

After Bourke’s Potholes, we drove on to the main Blyde River Canyon viewpoints, and by this point the skies had cleared completely and the light was absolutely perfect. You park up and then have a choice of several short trails that lead out to different vantage points, each giving you a subtly different angle on the canyon and the land beyond. The scale of what you’re looking at takes a moment to properly register. The canyon walls drop away steeply beneath you, the river glints in the valley far below, and the landscape stretches out towards the lowveld in a series of greens and browns that seem to go on forever. The Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve, which protects this whole area, was established in 1965 and covers around 29,000 hectares. It’s home to hippos, crocodiles, baboons, leopards and an extraordinary variety of bird life, which gives you a sense of just how much wildness is packed into what looks from up here like a very tranquil green trench. We stood there for quite a while. It was, in the plainest possible terms, amazing.

🏔️ The Three Rondavels

Not far from the canyon viewpoints is one of the Panorama Route’s most photographed landmarks — the Three Rondavels. These are three enormous, roughly conical rock formations rising from the canyon floor, their rounded summits and gently sloping sides bearing a striking resemblance to the traditional circular thatched dwellings known as rondavels that have been built across sub-Saharan Africa for centuries. The Zulu and Sotho peoples of the region used rondavels as their primary domestic structures — round walls, usually of mud and stone, topped with a conical thatched roof — and it’s a fair description of what these rock formations look like, albeit on a scale that would need rather a lot of thatch. The Three Rondavels are also sometimes called the Three Sisters, though locally you’ll hear both names. Each of the three formations has been given a name: Mogoladikwe (The Widow), Magabolle and Maseroto, the latter being named after a female Mapulana chief. The geology here is predominantly red Bushveld granite at the base, capped with black hornfels, which accounts for the distinctive dark summit caps that complete the rondavel illusion.

By the time we got here, the area was starting to fill up with other visitors and the car parks were getting busy. We found a spot eventually and made our way along the trail to the viewpoint. The Three Rondavels sit at a point where the Blyde Canyon reaches its widest extent, so the panorama from here is particularly expansive. For Karen, the three peaks themselves were the obvious draw. For me, the thing that really caught my eye was something slightly different — the oxbow lake formed by the Blyde River far below, where the river has looped around on itself to create a distinctive horseshoe shape visible from the viewpoint. It’s one of those geographical features that you’d normally only see in a textbook diagram, and there it was, right in front of us, laid out in the valley like a geography lesson brought to life.

🪟 God’s Window

By the time we’d done the Three Rondavels, we had a proper decision to make. We could either carry on around the southern end of the Panorama Route loop and head back towards Graskop that way, or we could backtrack to God’s Window and the Pinnacle — our first stops of the morning, which had been completely socked in with cloud — and gamble on the weather having improved. We went with the gamble.

It paid off. By the time we pulled back into the God’s Window car park, the clouds had lifted completely and the views were entirely open. And what views they are. God’s Window sits on the very lip of the Great Escarpment — the Drakensberg — at an elevation of around 1,730 metres (5,676 feet) above sea level, and the cliff face drops more than 700 metres almost sheer to the lowveld below. From the viewing platform, on a clear day, you can see right across the broad, flat expanse of the lowveld to the distant Lebombo Mountains, which mark the border with Mozambique some 100 kilometres away. Kruger National Park sprawls across the middle distance, an unbroken carpet of bush. The name “God’s Window” is thought to date from the early twentieth century and is a fairly self-explanatory piece of naming — if you were going to assign a deity a viewing spot, this would be a strong candidate.

There’s also a short trail up from the main platform to a small rainforest area at the top of the escarpment, where the altitude and moisture combine to support a pocket of dense, lush subtropical forest that feels almost incongruously green compared to the dry landscape below. It’s worth the short walk up. That said, being honest about it, God’s Window — impressive as it is — was slightly less gripping than the canyon viewpoints we’d visited earlier in the day. The Blyde River Canyon viewpoints give you more to look at and a greater sense of geological drama. God’s Window is broader and more distant. Both are worth doing, but if you’re pressed for time, the canyon wins.

At that point, we’d ticked off all the scenic stops we’d set our hearts on. There are some waterfalls along the route — the Lisbon Falls and the Berlin Falls are the main ones — but we made the pragmatic decision to skip them. The rainy season in Mpumalanga runs roughly from October to April, and we were there well into the dry months, meaning water levels would be low and the falls would be a trickle rather than the roaring spectacles they become after summer storms. Not worth the detour in those conditions. Instead, we pointed the car towards Pilgrim’s Rest.

⛏️ Pilgrim’s Rest

Pilgrim’s Rest is one of those places that you’d be tempted to drive straight past if you didn’t know what was there — a small, quiet collection of Victorian-era corrugated iron buildings strung along a narrow valley. But knowing what you’re looking at transforms it entirely, because Pilgrim’s Rest has one of the more dramatic histories of any small town in South Africa.

The story begins in 1873, when a prospector named Alec “Wheelbarrow” Patterson discovered alluvial gold in the stream that runs through the valley, which he’d modestly named Pilgrim’s Creek. News spread with the speed that only the promise of gold can generate, and within months the area was heaving with prospectors. By the start of 1874, it was estimated that around 1,500 men were working some 4,000 individual claims along the creek and its surrounding hillsides. This made it the second significant goldfield in the Transvaal, coming shortly after the Mac Mac diggings nearby, and it drew fortune-seekers from across South Africa, Britain, Australia and the United States — a proper international scramble. The settlement that grew up around the diggings was given the name Pilgrim’s Rest, a title that managed to be both ironic (few pilgrims found lasting rest there) and oddly aspirational.

The alluvial gold — the loose stuff you could pan from the riverbed and creek banks — was largely exhausted by the early 1880s. At that point, the small independent prospectors mostly moved on to other diggings, and the larger mining companies arrived with the capital and equipment required to go deeper into the reef gold buried in the hillsides. The most significant operator was eventually the Transvaal Gold Mining Estates (TGME), which consolidated most of the claims and ran the mines on an industrial footing. The peak productive years for Pilgrim’s Rest were 1913 and 1914, just before the First World War disrupted everything, when output reached its highest recorded levels. Mining continued intermittently through the twentieth century, with the last commercial gold extraction wrapping up in 1972 — almost exactly a century after Patterson first spotted colour in the creek.

The town’s transition from working mining settlement to tourist attraction began almost immediately after mining ended. It became a tourist destination in 1970 and crucially it had been so thoroughly left alone by the march of progress that it needed almost no alteration to serve as its own historical exhibit. The corrugated iron buildings, the layout of the streets, the old mining equipment scattered about — it had all just sat there, gently rusting and weathering, in much the same state as when the last miners left. In 1986, Pilgrim’s Rest was declared a National Monument, which gave it formal protection and locked in its character for posterity.

The drive from Graskop to Pilgrim’s Rest is about 17 kilometres along the R533, and the road deserves a mention of its own. It climbs and drops through a series of steep gradients and sharp, winding bends that wind through dense forest. On a normal day it’s a pleasant enough drive. On the particular day we made the trip, we found ourselves wedged behind a fully laden truck that appeared to have all the mechanical vigour of a tired carthorse. It ground its way around every bend at roughly the pace of continental drift, and there was no safe place to overtake. It stretched what should have been a 20-minute drive into something considerably longer and more testing of one’s patience and vocabulary. But we got there.

The town itself is divided into an upper town and a lower town, separated by about 500 metres of winding road. Both parts are essentially open-air museums — almost every building you see is original Victorian-era construction, and many of them are labelled and interpreted as part of the heritage site. There are reminders of the mining history all around: old machinery, the graveyard up on the hill with its atmospheric tilt of weathered headstones, the old Royal Hotel (the only hotel in the world, they claim, where you can book into a corrugated iron room and pay for the privilege) and various other period structures. The whole place has been thoughtfully oriented towards visitors, with a decent collection of guesthouses, restaurants, bars and small boutique shops selling local crafts, antiques and the usual range of things you didn’t know you needed until you saw them.

We spent a happy hour and a half simply wandering around, peering into shops, reading the information boards and absorbing the atmosphere. The shops were tempting in the way that holiday shops always are — you examine things you’d walk straight past at home. And it was in one of these establishments that we encountered what turned out to be the undisputed highlight of the culinary day: a milk tart wrapped in a pancake. For those unfamiliar, melktert — milk tart — is a classic South African dessert, a pastry shell filled with a sweet, creamy, cinnamon-dusted custard of milk, eggs and flour that has Dutch colonial origins going back to the Cape settlers of the seventeenth century. Wrapping it in a pancake was someone’s inspired decision and we were entirely on board with it. It was, in a word, excellent.

After about 90 minutes of exploring, eating and generally enjoying ourselves, we pointed the car back down the R533 towards Graskop, slightly fuller and considerably more cheerful than when we’d arrived.

Planning your visit to The Panorama Route

The Best Time to Visit Mpumalanga Province

Mpumalanga — meaning “the place where the sun rises” in Swati — is one of South Africa’s most scenically dramatic provinces, encompassing the Blyde River Canyon, the Drakensberg Escarpment, the Panorama Route, and a generous sweep of Kruger National Park. Choosing when to visit depends on whether your priority is wildlife viewing, hiking and scenery, or avoiding the crowds.

🌿 Autumn (March – May)

Autumn is widely regarded as one of the most rewarding times to visit Mpumalanga. The wet season is winding down, the bush is still lush and green, and temperatures become pleasantly mild after the heat of summer. The Lowveld cools comfortably into the low to mid-twenties Celsius during the day, while the escarpment areas such as Sabie, Graskop, and Hazyview drop to refreshing evenings. Waterfalls fed by the summer rains are at their most spectacular — the Lisbon Falls, Mac Mac Falls, and Berlin Falls thunder at peak flow. Wildlife in Kruger National Park is slightly harder to spot as the vegetation remains dense, but migratory birds are still abundant, and predator activity is high as prey is plentiful.

What to pack: Light breathable layers, a warm fleece or light jacket for cooler evenings and escarpment mornings, waterproof walking shoes, a packable rain jacket for lingering afternoon showers, sun protection, insect repellent, and neutral-coloured clothing for game drives.

❄️ Winter (June – August)

Winter is the peak season for wildlife enthusiasts and the best time to visit Kruger National Park. Rainfall is minimal to absent in the Lowveld, the grass is short and dry, and animals congregate around waterholes and rivers — making sightings of elephant, lion, leopard, and buffalo considerably easier. Days are bright, dry, and warm in the Lowveld (around 22–25 °C), though nights can drop sharply to near freezing, particularly on the escarpment. The escarpment towns experience brisk, clear days perfect for hiking the Blyde River Canyon trails without the humidity of the wet season. This is the busiest and most expensive period for accommodation, so booking well in advance is essential.

What to pack: Warm layers are essential — thermal base layers, a fleece mid-layer, and a windproof outer jacket for early-morning and evening game drives. Comfortable walking shoes or hiking boots for trails, a wide-brimmed hat, sunglasses, high-SPF sunscreen (the dry air and winter sun are deceptive), binoculars, and a camera with a long lens. Dust-proof bags for camera equipment are advisable in the dry Lowveld.

🌸 Spring (September – November)

Spring is arguably the single best season for a well-rounded Mpumalanga visit. The dry conditions of winter persist into September and early October, keeping wildlife viewing excellent while temperatures begin to warm pleasantly. By October the bush starts to green up, wildflowers begin to appear, and migrant birds return from the north in extraordinary numbers — making it a paradise for birdwatchers. Jacaranda blossom and golden wattle add colour to roadsides and gardens across the escarpment. November marks the start of the rains, bringing dramatic late-afternoon thunderstorms that clear quickly, leaving the air cool and fresh. Accommodation rates begin to rise towards the November school-holiday period.

What to pack: Lightweight clothing for warm days, a light jacket or cardigan for cool mornings, a compact umbrella or packable rain jacket for November downpours, comfortable walking shoes and sandals, insect repellent (mosquito activity increases from October), high-SPF sun protection, and binoculars for birdwatching.

☀️ Summer (December – February)

Summer is the wet season across Mpumalanga. The Lowveld and escarpment receive heavy afternoon and overnight rainfall, primarily as dramatic thunderstorms that rarely last all day. Temperatures in the Lowveld can exceed 35 °C with high humidity, making midday activity uncomfortable. The escarpment towns are considerably cooler and refreshed by the rain. Waterfalls are at their finest from January onwards as rivers reach capacity. The bush in Kruger becomes dense and the long grass makes wildlife spotting more challenging, though this is the prime season for newborn animals and breeding herds. Malaria risk in the Lowveld is at its highest from November through April, so prophylactic medication is strongly advisable. December and January are peak domestic holiday weeks, with higher prices and crowds at popular viewpoints.

What to pack: Light, breathable cotton or moisture-wicking clothing, a quality waterproof rain jacket or packable poncho, insect repellent with DEET, malaria prophylaxis (consult a travel health clinic before departure), sandals for warm days, sunscreen, a dry bag or waterproof case for electronics, and a change of clothes easily accessible for unexpected downpours.

✅ Overall Best Time to Visit

For most visitors, September through October represents the optimum window for experiencing Mpumalanga at its finest. The tail end of the dry season keeps game viewing in Kruger superb, the escarpment trails are clear and comfortable, wildflowers and returning birdlife add colour and spectacle, and the oppressive heat and humidity of midsummer have not yet arrived. Those with a strong preference for waterfalls at full flow should add May or January to their planning. Winter months from June to August are ideal for dedicated wildlife safaris but demand warm clothing and advance booking. Whatever the season, Mpumalanga rewards visitors with some of the most diverse and dramatic landscapes in southern Africa.

Where to stay

A PILGRIMS REST

Tucked away on Oorwinning Street just 223 metres from Graskop’s town centre, A Pilgrims Rest is a beautifully restored Victorian-style guest house that feels like stepping into a gentler era — without sacrificing a single modern comfort. The four-star property earns a near-perfect 9.4/10 on Booking.com, with guests singling out the vintage décor, immaculate rooms and the warmth of host Adele, who goes out of her way with restaurant tips and local knowledge. Rooms range from generous deluxe doubles (with the choice of bath or shower) to a spacious 60 m² family room, all air-conditioned and stocked with tea and coffee facilities. The shared garden terrace makes for a lovely spot to unwind after a day at God’s Window or the Blyde River Canyon, and the breakfast — much praised by reviewers — sets you up perfectly for the Panorama Route.

Zur Alten Mine

Set on a tranquil guest farm along the Mpumalanga escarpment, Zur Alten Mine offers seven self-contained chalets and cottages that combine rustic charm with genuine privacy — perfect for couples, families and small groups wanting to slow down on the Panorama Route. Every unit (bar the budget Guides Cabin) comes with its own fireplace, private patio or garden, braai facilities and an ensuite bathroom, while most also have fully equipped kitchens for self-catering stays. The Honeymoon and Lakeview Chalets are particularly romantic, the latter offering lovely dam views, and the Family Cottage comfortably sleeps five. A traditional German continental breakfast can be arranged for an additional fee, and the farm’s location puts you within easy reach of Bourke’s Luck Potholes, God’s Window, historic Pilgrim’s Rest (just 10 km away) and the Phabeni Gate to Kruger National Park.

WESTLODGE AT GRASKOP B&B

A lovingly run four-star bed and breakfast set 755 metres from Graskop’s centre, Westlodge has earned a devoted following — and a 9.2/10 rating across nearly 850 verified reviews — largely thanks to owner Gustav’s legendary hospitality and a breakfast spread that guests rave about. The property offers six room types to suit different needs, from cosy standard doubles to 38 m² family studios with kitchenettes, all fitted with air conditioning and extra-long beds (over two metres). A rose garden, sun terrace and shared lounge give the place a warm, homely feel, and the team goes above and beyond with packed lunches for day trips and thoughtful local advice. Sitting five kilometres from the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve and within easy range of Pilgrim’s Rest and Kruger National Park, Westlodge is one of those places that feels like more than just somewhere to sleep.

Where to eat

The Garden Shed

The landlady of the guest house we were staying at recommended the Garden Shed to us. The restaurant is located right in the heart of Graskop, and as we were staying in the town we could easily and safely walk there.

It was very busy when we got there, and apparently that it always the case in the evenings. So, it is worth booking if you can as it is small and can fill up very quickly.

The atmosphere was excellent and everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time.

The food is mainly meat based as is the case for many restaurants in South Africa, which did not work so well for us vegetarian. But they did have a pizzas oven, so we had a very tasty cheese pizza.

The Glass House

The Glass House restaurant was also highly recommended by landlady of the guest house. It is just down the road from the Garden Shed, and it is also very popular, so booking ahead, especially the weekends, is required.

It is a family run business and the owner and his children are very attentive, so the service is excellent. In terms of atmosphere we preferred the Garden Shed which was more homely, but I can see that many people might enjoy the more formal surroundings of the Glass House.

Divine Me Eatery

When we first arrived in Graskop were hungry and looking for somewhere to eat. The Divine ME Eatery is across the road from Abe’s Glass House restaurant. Its bright pink paint job make it hard to miss. The inside decor is just as bold and quirky.

Divine ME does breakfast, brunch and lunch, and serves an extremely eclectic menu. They advertised vegan food, which immediately caught our eye. It was late in the afternoon, and they were closing, but we only wanted something light to carry us over until dinner time. We ordered some vegan soup and a drink. The soup turned out to be surprisingly good.