While so many people have heard of Kruger National Park, there aren't enough people that know about the South Africa Panorama Route!
It's just around the corner from Kruger, and it makes a great addition to your safari tour, with some cool stops along the way. Imagine breathtaking views, handmade crafts, and unique places to stay in the mountains - without a ton of driving or hiking to get to them!
We're here to share all of the details for the South Africa Panorama Route so that you can experience it in the absolutely most optimal way possible.
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A Little Intro to the South Africa Panorama Route
Before getting into the details of what to do, where to stay, and how to get around, let's go over some of the basic info you should know for the South Africa Panorama Route.
🛣 What is the Panorama Route?
The South Africa Panorama Route is a popular tourist trail near Kruger National Park that is a great addition to safari trips. It includes a variety of stops such as waterfalls, viewpoints, and other touristic points of interest.
📍 Where is the South Africa Panorama Route?
The South Africa Panorama Route is in the north east of the country in Mpumalanga, near Kruger National Park. It is a little under 400 km east of Johannesburg, and takes about 4-4 1/2 hours to drive to.
The Panorama Route goes along Route 532, and stretches from a little south of Graskop, going up to Blyde River Canyon.
➡ How Long is the South Africa Panorama Route?
The whole route is about 70 km from the first point of interest outside of Graskop to the final viewpoints of Blyde River Canyon. Without stopping, the route takes a little under an hour to drive.
How to Get to the South Africa Panorama Route
Now that you know where the Panorama Route in South Africa is, let's look at how to get there!
✈️ Where Do You Fly Into for the Panorama Route?
The closest airport to the South Africa Panorama Route is Nelspruit, which is 80 km south, or a little over an hour drive away from the beginning of the Panorama Route.
If you're coming from another continent though, chances are the easiest airport to fly into will be Johannesburg, which is the biggest hub of Southern Africa. This is where we visited the Panorama Route from, and definitely thought it was the most budget-friendly option.
Flight Tip: Using Skyscanner you can check the calendar to see which are the cheapest dates for flying to Nespruit, or see the best flight for Johannesburg.
Search for a flight to Nelspruit or Johannesburg:
🚗 How to Get to the Panorama Route in South Africa from Johannesburg
The best way to get to the Panorama Route in South Africa is to drive there from Johannesburg.
We actually rented a big pick up truck from the Johannesburg airport and did a 7-week road trip through Southern Africa. We converted the back into a bed, and it was a great way to have flexibility in our travel plans!
🛻 Do You Need a 4x4 for the Panorama Route?
We decided to have a large car because many places in Southern Africa require one, especially in Namibia and Botswana.
However, in order to do the South Africa Panorama Route you don't actually need a high clearance vehicle or 4x4! The road is super easy to drive, and all parking lots are paved.
The Panorama Route in South Africa is well paved.
🚌 How to Get to the Panorama Route in South Africa Without a Car
If you don't want to drive, there are actually a lot of tour companies that pair the South Africa Panorama Route with Kruger Park safari packages. This is definitely the best way to do it if you don't have a car, as it's the most efficient.
Here are a few tours that we've found that include the South Africa Panorama Route with Kruger National Park from Johannesburg:
The South Africa Panorama Route: Things to Do & See
Alright, are you ready to explore the South Africa Panorama Route?! One thing that is super great about this area is that everything is super close to one another.
The setup is really ideal for those that want to see a lot in little time, and for those that may not have great mobility.
Attractions are all within minutes from one another, have small charges to enter (they accept credit cards), and have paved parking lots with amenities (don't worry we'll get more into that in a bit).
Don't have time to read the whole article and want to save it for later? Just pin it!
Things to See Along the South Africa Panorama Route
Now for the fun part! Each of these spots are places you can see in under 30 minutes, and some of them are just a quick stop for a view.
We're going to share all of the places from bottom to top, so that you can easily pin them in your map and plan out the perfect trip along the South Africa Panorama Route.
Mac Mac Falls
This 65-meter drop along the Mac Mac River is simply stunning! The offiical viewpoint is just a 5-minute walk from the parking lot.
We were a bit dissapointed to find out the fence was so high, so you can see how we flew the drone above instead to get a different type of view.
We actually saw a ton of pictures of people at the bottom of the falls though! We'd recommend asking a local how to get here, because it definitely seems like the best way to see it. You'll have to hike along the sides of the river, but it should be free and get you up really close. We even saw people swimming there in the summer.
Forest Falls
This is one of the most beautiful falls in the area, and unlike some of the other ones, you can actually hike here! We didn't hear about this until after we left, but heard it's a 4 km moderate hike along the river to get there.
The Pinnacle Rock
Pinnace Rock is a 30-meter quartzite tower surrounded by dense forest, and offer stunning views around it. There are a couple of different viewpoints around this area, all that are just a couple of minutes walking from the lot.
God's Window
God's Window is apparently one of the best views along the South Africa Panorama Route. Unfortunately we were greeted by thick fog when we got there first thing in the morning, so we'd recommend coming here a bit later in the morning when the fog settles and you can appreciate the views.
Make sure not to visit God's Window when it's foggy at the top.
Rainforest Trail
Right past God's Window (from the same entrance) you can walk up a short stone path through thick greenery. It's a scenic and easy walk, so a simple addition to God's Window.
Wonder View
Wonder view is one of the only free things to do along the South Africa Panorama Route. Just up the road from God's window, this is a great place to make a quick stop and enjoy the beautiful panoramas.
In our case, there was a lot of fog, but typically the views are incredible!
Lisbon Falls
Lisbon Falls was the number one attraction we were looking forward to for the Panorama Route. We saw so many pictures of people swimming in the river below with the massive gorgeous falls in the back.
Unfortunately, this area has been blocked off though, and now you can simply just see a side view of it from above.
Berlin Falls
Just by Lisbon Falls, this is another waterfall to stop at for a quick view from the top.
We'd recommend visiting here first thing in the morning before the sun peaks out, or later in the day when the sun isn't blaring right behind the falls so you can have better lighting than we did.
Bourke's Luck Potholes
Located right in the middle of the South Africa Panorama Route, Bourke's Luck Potholes is one of the bigger attractions in the area.
As soon as you park you'll see local women singing and dancing and a small museum. Then behind that is a small trail that leads to the potholes, which are scattered deep inside a canyon.
The place is extremely cool! However, you can only enjoy the pools from above, and you also can't swim in the river on top either. For better photography we'd recommend getting here late in the day when the sun isn't so harsh.
Blyde River Canyon
Blyde River Canyon is the true star of the show when it comes to the South Africa Panorama Route!
We saw a ton of pictures on Instagram, and everything was tagged Blyde River Canyon. This is extremely deceiving though, as the canyon is massive, and has a few different viewpoints and areas to enjoy it.
