I’d never even heard of the Blyde River Canyon, let alone realised it was in fact the third largest in the world, after the Grand Canyon in the USA and the Fish River Canyon in Namibia. Located on the Panorama Route in South Africa’s eastern Mpumalanga Province, the canyon fits in perfectly with a visit to the Kruger or Sabi Sand areas.

Forming the northern part of the Drakensberg escarpment the canyon (also known as Motlatse Canyon) is almost 50 kms long, depending on who you’re talking to. The rock is varied, from red sandstone to slate and even quartzite, and the canyon is known as the largest ‘green’ canyon in the world thanks to it’s lush subtropical foliage. The name Blyde, meaning ‘happy’ in Dutch, was given to the river in 1844 when several voortrekkers (pioneers) returned safely from an expedition to Delagoa Bay after the rest of their party had assumed them dead. Think I’d be happy as well, having somewhere so spectacular to return to.

You can easily visit the main sights along the panoramic route on the western rim of the canyon in a day, although a bit more time in the area will allow you to stop at lesser known features, especially if waterfalls are your thing. There are lots!

Canyon highlights

Travelling north to south down the western rim, these are the stops you really don’t want to miss.

The Three Rondavels

This was the most spectacular viewpoint, overlooking the Blyderivierpoort Dam and the colourfully majestic rock formations that look like rondavels, the traditional African beehive huts. Definitely my favourite part of the canyon, and one which we also enjoyed from above when we had a go at microlighting.

Unsurprisingly this is one of the most popular stops for coach tours, so it’s best to visit early morning or late afternoon if you want a bit of peace. There are plenty of great vantage points for those all important photos, although that didn’t stop a coach load of ignorant tourists from descending on our exact spot and spending 20 minutes standing right in front of where Hubbie was setting up his tripod. He was not amused.

I was itching to express my frustration but he reminded me I had on my CT t-shirt so I had to behave myself.

Entrance: R10 per car

Facilities: toilets, souvenir stalls

Wow factor: 5/5

Lowveld View

Just around the corner from the Rondavels, the Lowveld View isn’t quite as spectacular but still worth a stop to stretch your legs. You can go for a bit of a scramble around here as it isn’t fenced off for safety like the Rondavels, and enjoy the peace (coaches don’t tend to stop here). Perfect for finding a rocky perch to sit quietly and contemplate life.

Entrance: free

Facilities: none

Wow Factor: 3/5

Bourkes Luck Potholes

These strange water-eroded formations had fascinated me from afar so I was really excited to see them for myself. Being one of the main stops on the tourist trail the entrance is built up and more work is currently underway, making it a bit of a hub. Yet the potholes themselves are a 10 minute downhill walk (uphill on the way back!) from the entrance so ultimately the construction and buildings don’t detract from the experience.

The cylindrical rock features are basically the result of decades of swirling water eddies at the point where the Blyde and Treur Rivers meet. The soil in the water gives the potholes their remarkable colours, whilst the name comes from a chap called Tom Burke, a gold digger who staked a claim nearby.

There are several bridges over the gorge so you can admire the potholes from different angles, and you can scamper over the rocky clefts below if you’re feeling adventurous. Some say tossing coins into the pools will bring good luck, but we resisted adding to the coffers of the Trevi Fountain when in Rome, so we weren’t about to begin throwing money away now.

Again this place gets busy, but being located about half way down the panoramic route it’s difficult to see it without the coach loads, unless you stop first thing en-route to your starting point at one end. Hubbie was once again plagued with tourists, despite having to scramble some way to get his perfect photography perch. One minute he was alone, but when he turned around there they were. Some even rudely peering right over his shoulder to see what photos he had taken.

Tip: there is no shade once you have passed through the entrance, so take water and your sun hat. It gets extremely hot out there, especially on the walk back up!

Entrance: R80 (2 adults and 1 car)

Facilities: toilets, small snack shop selling drinks and ice-creams (the biggest range of Magnum ice-creams I’ve ever seen, so naturally I had to sample the pink champagne one with silver sparkles, yum!).

Wow Factor: 4/5

The road south from here is heavily pot-holed, and add in several cows and bimbling tourist cars it’s not a quick drive. Just as well the scenery is stunning.

Lisbon Falls

There are so many waterfalls in the area, it’s difficult deciding which to visit. So we enlisted the help of Hendry, owner of the exquisite Dar Amane guesthouse where we were staying in Graskop, for his advice. Which is how we ended up at Lisbon Falls, truly some of the most spectacular waterfalls we’ve ever seen, and found just outside the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve. And as a bonus we were virtually the only ones there!

The falls are indeed named after the Capital of Portugal, and continuing the European theme just a bit further down the road are the Berlin Falls. The names come from the miners who rushed to the area in the late 1800s when gold was discovered nearby at Pilgrims Rest and Baberton.

It’s a great place for picnics and to take photos without the coach loads to contend with. Although with all the space available, I wasn’t impressed that hubbie decided to set up in the most precarious position on the edge of the gorge. So to stop me fretting about his safety I went to admire the African print table cloths being sold in the car park. Luckily for hubbie, the ladies weren’t interested in haggling (thanks to all the tourists who naively agree to pay top dollar) so the tablecloths stayed put.

Entrance: R10 per car

Facilities: toilets, souvenir stalls

Wow Factor: 5/5

God’s Window

Now with a name like this we were expecting great things, perhaps even a miracle. So after traipsing up the small stone stairway to heaven we were sorely disappointed to discover it was simply a couple of very tiny platform viewpoints over the valley. Sure, the view is far reaching and if you lean out far enough you might even see a bit of a not-particularly-impressive waterfall, but in the end it’s just a whole load of trees as far as the eye can see. Perhaps we would have been more appreciative had it not been so hazy (apparently you can see as far as the Kruger National Park and Mozambique on a good day) but as it was, we weren’t convinced.

Entrance: R10 per car

Facilities: souvenir stalls

Wow Factor: 3/5

Where to start

The best thing to do is check the weather forecast and plan accordingly, making sure you see the best sights during a sunny window! It makes sense to start at one end and work down (or up!), and whilst we drove north to south, it is worth noting that we felt the view of the 3 Rondavels was the most impressive, so you might want to do it the other way around and save the best till last. Although if you’re staying in Graskop (which we highly recommend) it feels more natural to start further away and get nearer to home with each kilometre.

Weather

The best weather is during the Summer, from October to March, when the drier conditions mean fewer clouds and excellent views. Having said that, we visited during November and experienced quite a bit of bad weather in Mpumalanga, so were rather lucky to even see the canyon, let alone catch it on a cloudless day.

Where to stay

Driving along the panoramic route there really were very few settlements, and most didn’t look like the sort of places with tourist guest houses. So it really does make sense to stay in one of the small towns in the south, like Graskop which has plenty of accommodation, eating and tour options. We highly recommend a stay at Dar Amane in Graskop, read my review about it here.

How to do it

The best way by far is to self drive. Failing that you’ll be able to pick up a tour in one of the local towns.

Alternative ways to experience the canyon

By air – as I’ve already mentioned, seeing the canyon from a microlight is an experience second to none. Read about our airborne adventures here.

By water – you can also take boat trips on the river, highly recommended by our microlight pilots Deon and Rowena, though we didn’t have time during our visit. A reason to return!