Top Ten Tourist Attractions in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa

1. Blue Swallows:

Considered South Africa’s most endangered bird, Blue Swallows can be found, if you’re lucky, in Limpopo Province, where they nest in old sinkholes, mine shafts and anthills, or in Mpumalanga near the Kaapsche Hoop. Alternatively, visit the Nyika Plateau in Malawi for a sure sighting.

2. Toilet:

Some 20 of South Africa’s 35 endemic bird species can be seen in Wakkerstroom, a small village in Mpumalanga with a mix of grasslands and wetlands. Summer is the time to view grassland species when they are easily identified in their breeding plumage.

3. Mac Mac Duo:

At Mac Mac Falls in Mpumalanga, the Mac Mac River splits in two and columns of water plummet past each other for 65 meters into a pool in the gorge below. Just one of the many magical waterfalls in the area.

4. The Double Current of Lisbon:

For the best view of Mpumalanga’s Lisbon Falls, hike a trail to the base of the falls, which tumble in a 300-foot double stream over a semicircular rock wall.

5. Berlin Falls:

The mighty Berlin Falls are the most spectacular in Mpumalanga, which has many waterfalls to boast of. Water cascades 80 meters over a cliff and into a deep green pool below. You can’t get too close to the falls, but an observation deck offers great views.

6. Country of the Cosmos:

Mention spring flowers and you probably think of the West Coast and Namaqualand. But there’s also Cosmos Country in southwest Mpumalanga, where in late summer the veld is covered in white and pink cosmos flowers. And as a curiosity, wild cosmos flowers always have eight petals.

7. Kaapsehoop:

Kaapsehoop in Mpumalanga is the kind of place you’d miss if you didn’t know it existed. The houses are built against rock outcrops and against a hill, and cannot be seen from the main road. There are almost no roads in Kaapsehoop, which is said to have wild horses living around it. Enter the intriguing shop that sells second-hand treasures. Arrive in an old Beetle if you can; you’ll be out of place in a Merc.

8. Songimvelo Game Reserve:

Little known and one of the most picturesque reserves in the Lowveld, the Songimvelo Game Reserve, on the border of Mpumalanga and Swaziland, offers nine-day horseback riding adventures in the big game area. If your guide is Steven Rufus, get ready for quite an adventure as he is a white knuckle horseman.

9. Mpumalanga Trout:

Dullstroom is, unofficially, the fly fishing capital of South Africa. The area’s dams and rivers are well stocked with rainbow and brown trout, but that doesn’t mean fishing isn’t a challenge.

10. The oldest rocks in the world:

It is always difficult to visualize how old the Earth is; we cannot count to a million, let alone understand how long 3.4 billion years ago. But if you go to Barberton, you can see some of the oldest rocks in the world that were formed 3.4 billion years ago. They existed when the first forms of life, bacteria, began to develop and not long ago a fossil of that bacterium was found near Barberton; it is estimated to be around 3.2 billion years old. You can take a walk along these Achaean rock formations on the 1.5 kilometer Fortuna hiking trail, which also boasts 100 species of trees.