The most beautiful car route through South Africa
The province of Mpumalanga - between Johannesburg and the border with Mozambique - is home to an improbably beautiful route: the Panorama Route. The circular route with several tributaries amounts to just under 400km. The road meanders through very diverse landscapes, moving between valleys, gorges, forests and mountains. Large elevation changes regularly open up the landscape to phenomenal views. The undisputed most beautiful part of this route runs parallel to the Blyde River Canyon, the stretch from Pilgrim's Rest through Graskop to the Three Rondawels viewpoint. You can cover the 180 kilometers in a day, but take plenty of time so you have opportunity for some side roads along the way and to experience the grandeur of the landscape more intensely. There are excellent hiking opportunities: from light walks to the many viewpoints to tough climbs or descents to a waterfall or through a gorge. Where the world can't find you...
Enchantingly beautiful vistas
The route begins at Pilgrim's Rest, a museum village best known for its gold mines in earlier times. The village of Graskop is a good base if you wish to explore the Panorama Route over several days. Just after Graskop you will pass Pinnacle Rock: an impressive, isolated rock formation rising from the forest. At God's Window, it's worth following Rainforest footpath for even better views. Bring swimwear if you walk to the foot of Lisbon Falls or Berlin Falls, for a refreshing shower near the more than 80- and 94-foot-high falls. Regularly overlook Blyde River Canyon, a huge gorge with rock plateaus, cliffs and unusual shapes. Bourke's Luck Potholes are cylindrical holes in the rocks, created where the Blyde River and the Treur River meet churning. Lowveld View is seen only after a short walk. The reward is magnificent, here you can look hundreds of feet into the depths of the meandering Blyde River. At the Three Rondawels you will see three giant round red sandstone rocks' wondrous formations in a beautiful landscape.
