Lydenburg, Pilgrims Rest, Kiepersol, White River, Hazyview, Ohrigstad, Pretoriuskop, Sabie
It’s highly likely that anyone visiting Graskop will have stopped for a treat at one of the many superb pancake houses in the town. Tour buses parked outside a particular establishment hints at its popularity.
But Graskop is much more than this – the town is known as the Window on Mpumalanga, chiefly because of its location at the edge of the escarpment where pine plantations make way for awe-inspiring views of thick indigenous bushveld set amongst canyons and hills.
The area was first established as a mining settlement in 1882. Present day Graskop is a tourist destination with some of South Africa’s most spectacular natural wonders bordering the town. Graskop is included in the popular Panorama Route that runs from Lydenburg in the south to north of the Blyde River Canyon. This route is bursting with panoramas, waterfalls, fruit and nut farms, striking mountains and appealing towns, one of the principal ones being Graskop.
Top 6 reasons to visit Graskop
1. Visit God’s Window to stand at the edge of the escarpment and look 700m below to the Lowveld region. The scenic vistas of pristine forest extends for miles out to the horizon where the earth’s curvature is easily visible. Nearby is the Pinnacle, a 30m rock tower that appears to have been dropped from the skies.
2. Hike the 27000ha Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve to reach the Blydepoort Dam where hippos abound and the call of raptors echo in the valleys. Look out for the shy somango monkey in the forests and the rare oribi antelope along the trails.
3. Graskop is on the Waterfall Route, travel north on the tarred regional road to reach Lisbon Falls, a 95m high waterfall with picnic site. Further on are the 80m Berlin Falls, surrounded by a beautiful rock-strewn amphitheatre. Keep an eye out for the rock bridge on this... Show more
