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Mountain stays in South Africa
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South Africa is a high country with a coastal rim, and the edge of that plateau is where the mountains are. The Drakensberg runs as a basalt wall along the Lesotho border with a band of sandstone foothills below it. The escarpment of Mpumalanga and Limpopo drops from the highveld to the Lowveld in forest, waterfalls and trout country. The Cape Fold ranges run in parallel lines from the Cederberg through the Boland to the Swartberg, holding the fynbos and the passes. In the Karoo, isolated peaks such as the Sneeuberg stand straight out of the plain.
Autumn and spring, March to May and September to November, suit every range: cool, clear and mostly dry. Winter brings snow to the Drakensberg, the Swartberg and the Cederberg peaks and rain to the western Cape ranges, while the Karoo and the escarpment stay dry and very clear. Summer is green and warm with afternoon thunderstorms over the Berg and the highveld, and hot enough in the Karoo valleys that walking is a morning activity.
Every stay here is in a town at the foot of, or inside, a range. Pair the mountains with hiking, mountain biking, gravel riding, stargazing under Karoo skies, or the wine farms that sit directly under the Boland peaks.
- When is the best time to visit the mountains in South Africa?
- Autumn, March to May, and spring, September to November, are cool, clear and dry across every range. Winter brings snow to the high peaks and rain to the western Cape ranges but is the clearest season in the Karoo and on the escarpment. Summer is green and warm with afternoon storms over the Drakensberg.