The Panorama Route from Hazyview: a one-day itinerary

Kruger may be the reason many people first come to the Lowveld. The Panorama Route is often the thing they were not quite expecting.

Within a day’s drive of Hazyview, the landscape climbs out of the Lowveld and onto the Mpumalanga escarpment: waterfalls, forest, sheer drops, rock formations and the enormous sweep of the Blyde River Canyon.

The principal sights include God’s Window, Lisbon and Berlin Falls, Bourke’s Luck Potholes and the Three Rondavels. The Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve extends along the escarpment and forms the dramatic northern end of the route.

Don’t try to see everything

The temptation is to turn the Panorama Route into a checklist.

We wouldn’t.

A much better day leaves enough time to walk to a viewpoint, stand beside a waterfall without checking the clock, have lunch somewhere along the way and occasionally stop simply because the view is good.

From The Zarafa, we would allow a full day.

Start with the weather

This is one excursion where weather genuinely matters.

The high escarpment around God’s Window can disappear into cloud and mist even while Hazyview below is clear. If the view is open when you arrive, take advantage of it rather than assuming it will still be there later.

God’s Window

This is one of the best-known stops on the route for good reason.

The main viewpoint is only part of the experience. Follow the paths upwards through the indigenous forest and the view changes as you climb.

Don’t arrive expecting a five-minute photograph and departure. Give it some time.

The waterfalls

The escarpment around Sabie and Graskop has several impressive waterfalls, and there is little point trying to visit all of them on the same day.

We would choose one or two.

Lisbon Falls fits particularly well into a route continuing north towards Bourke’s Luck Potholes and the canyon.

The water is impressive after rain, but the landscape around the falls is part of the attraction throughout the year.

Bourke’s Luck Potholes

Here the Treur and Blyde river systems have carved cylindrical formations into the rock through the movement of water, sand and stone.

Walkways and bridges take you across the formations and make this one of the stops where getting out of the vehicle is essential rather than optional.

Three Rondavels and Blyde River Canyon

Save time for this.

The Three Rondavels viewpoint looks across some of the Panorama Route’s grandest scenery, with enormous rock formations rising above the canyon.

This is not somewhere to arrive ten minutes before you need to begin the return journey.

Drive yourself or take a guide?

The route is perfectly possible to self-drive.

A private guided tour does, however, make the day considerably easier. Nobody needs to navigate, find entrances or decide how long to spend at each stop, and the person driving gets to see rather more of the scenery.

At The Zarafa, we can arrange the Panorama Route privately so the day belongs to you rather than to a coach timetable.

Back to Hazyview

The return to the Lowveld is part of the journey.

The landscape changes remarkably quickly as you descend from the escarpment. By the time you reach Hazyview again, the mountains have given way to warmer air and subtropical vegetation.

Then there is a private pool, a drink and dinner waiting.

After a full day on the road, that last part tends to matter.