Panorama Route and Blyde River Canyon

A dense scenic circuit around escarpment viewpoints and one of Africa's great canyons.

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Why this ride

A dense scenic circuit around escarpment viewpoints and one of Africa's great canyons. The road: R532 and R534. Distance and riding time are estimates from the checkpoints until the road is measured on this page.

Roadbook

1. Sabie start

   Sabie is a forestry town in the hills of Mpumalanga, where the Lowveld climbs into the Drakensberg escarpment and mist rolls through the pine plantations almost every morning. The surrounding area holds one of the largest man-made forests in the world, planted over the last century with pine and eucalyptus, and the sweet resin smell lingers in the air. Water pours off the escarpment everywhere, and the town is the base for a string of waterfalls: Mac Mac, Lone Creek, Bridal Veil and Horseshoe all lie within a short ride.

   Long Tom Pass climbs out of Sabie toward Lydenburg and tops out at about 2,150 metres, one of the highest roads in the province. It takes its name from the big Boer artillery guns, called Long Toms, that were hauled up here during the Anglo-Boer War, and a replica gun stands at the summit. The road is a delight, with long, smooth bends and fast sweepers through pine forest and open grassland, and good views back toward the Lowveld on clear days. Mist and rain are common, and the road can be wet and slick, so go carefully.

   The history of the area is tied to gold. Prospectors poured in during the 1870s, and Pilgrim's Rest, a short ride north, was the heart of the rush and is now a living museum of tin-roofed houses. Sabie has a more peaceful air today, with trout fishing in the streams, craft shops and a few cafes, and the Panorama Route begins just to the north, leading on to Blyde River Canyon.

   Sabie has fuel, food and plenty of places to stay, and larger towns lie within an hour, with Lydenburg about thirty-four kilometres away and White River the same distance in the other direction. The best time is autumn and winter, when the days are dry and clear, though mornings are cold. Summer brings heavy afternoon thunderstorms. Watch out for loose gravel on the bends, and for slow lorries carrying timber.

2. God's Window stop
3. Bourke's Luck Potholes stop
4. Blyde River Canyon stop

   Few canyons carry such cheerful names. When Voortrekkers found the river in the 1840s, they had left the Delagoa Bay fever lowlands in sorrow, fearing their leader was dead; they called a stream Treur, meaning mourning, and when they met the party returning safely, the next river became Blyde, meaning joy. The Blyde River Canyon, in Mpumalanga, is the result: a gorge about twenty-five kilometres long and up to seven hundred metres deep, cut into the northern end of the Drakensberg escarpment and clothed in green subtropical vegetation, making it one of the largest green canyons on Earth.

   The finish of the Panorama Route is dramatic. Three huge rounded rock pillars, the Three Rondavels, look like African huts built by giants, and the viewpoint is a place to linger. Further south, Bourke's Luck Potholes are cylindrical hollows scoured by whirling water, named after a prospector who staked a claim here during the 1870s gold rush and found nothing, while others found plenty. God's Window and Wonder View look out over the Lowveld, thousands of feet below, and on clear mornings you can see the Kruger National Park in the distance.

   The riding is superb. The roads climb out of the Lowveld on smooth tarmac with long sweeping bends and frequent viewpoints, passing waterfalls, pine plantations and tea estates. Abel Erasmus Pass is a good test, and Long Tom Pass, near Lydenburg, is another favourite. Mist is common in the mornings, and summer afternoon thunderstorms can be violent, so start early and keep a close eye on the sky. In winter, from June to August, days are dry and clear but mornings can be cold.

   The nearest services are in Graskop, a small, pleasant town with cafes and fuel, and Hoedspruit and Hazyview offer more choice. Entry fees apply at some viewpoints, and local vendors sell crafts at the lay-bys. Watch for monkeys, which are bold, and for minibus taxis that stop without warning. Baboons live in the area, so keep food out of sight. The country is good, and the people friendly.

5. Graskop stop

   Graskop perches right on the lip of the Drakensberg escarpment in Mpumalanga, where the highveld plateau drops about a thousand metres to the lowveld below, and nearly everything worth seeing in the area is a view. It is a small tourist town with craft stalls, cafes and guesthouses, and its position at the top of the Panorama Route makes it the natural base. Locals call the edge here the Berg, and when the mist comes up from the lowveld in the morning it fills the gaps between the forested spurs like milk.

   The sights are strung along the road within a short ride. God's Window looks out over the lowveld on a clear day all the way to the Kruger Park, and nearby are the Pinnacle, a single quartzite spire rising from the forest, and Lisbon Falls and Berlin Falls, which pour over the lip of the plateau. Further north, the Blyde River Canyon cuts into the escarpment for about twenty kilometres, one of the largest green canyons in the world, with the Three Rondavels, huge round rock formations, rising above the Blyde dam. The name of the river, which means river of joy, was given by Voortrekkers who returned safely after leaving their party on the river Treur, the river of sorrow.

   Gold built the region. In the 1870s prospectors found alluvial gold nearby, and Pilgrim's Rest, a few kilometres to the northeast, became a boom town, now preserved as a living museum with tin-roofed Victorian houses. The pine and eucalyptus plantations that cover many of the hills were planted to supply the mines with timber, and they give the air its resinous smell.

   The riding is rewarding but needs care. Roads on and below the escarpment are generally paved, with smooth bends, hairpins on the descents and long views. Mist and heavy rain are common, particularly in summer from November to March, and the road can be slick, while fog can shut out the view entirely. Potholes appear after the rains, and minibus taxis, trucks and pedestrians share the road, so ride defensively. Winter, from May to August, is dry and clear, with cold mornings.

   Graskop has fuel stations, a few supermarkets and a good number of places to eat, with the small town's cafes famous for stuffed pancakes. Beyond, towns are spaced out, so fill the tank here before heading up the Panorama Route. Keep valuables out of sight at viewpoints, where opportunistic theft has been reported, and enjoy the cool air at the top.

6. Back to Sabie finish

Where this sits

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