Driving the Panorama Route from Graskop
The Panorama Route runs along the lip of the Drakensberg escarpment, where the highveld stops and drops most of a kilometre into the Lowveld below. Everything worth stopping for sits within about sixty kilometres of road, and Graskop sits in the middle of it.
That middle position is the point. From the village every stop below is under an hour away and most are inside twenty-five minutes, so you are not spending the first ninety minutes of the day getting to the start. Drive it from Nelspruit or Hazyview and you will. It is also why, when people ask where to stay for the Panorama Route, the answer is usually Graskop.
The stops, north out of Graskop
In the order you would actually drive them. Drive times are from our front door on Mark Street.
Graskop Gorge Lift
10 minutes from the lodgeallow 1 to 2 hours
This one is in Graskop itself, so it is the easiest thing to do on a morning you are not driving anywhere. A glass lift takes you 51 metres down the side of the gorge, and at the bottom a network of raised boardwalks runs out through indigenous forest to a waterfall.
There is a restaurant and a craft market at the top, and the Big Swing operates from the same site if anyone in the car wants to reach the bottom faster than the lift does.
The boardwalks take prams and wheelchairs. The Big Swing is priced separately from the lift ticket.
The Pinnacle Rock
10 minutes from the lodgeallow 20 minutes
The first stop once you turn north out of Graskop on the R534, and the quickest on the whole route. A paved path leads a short way to a viewpoint over a single column of quartzite standing clear of the gorge behind it.
You will be back at the car in twenty minutes, which is why it makes sense to pair it with God's Window rather than treat it as a stop in its own right.
God's Window
15 minutes from the lodgeallow 1 hour
This is the one everybody comes for. Three viewpoints lead off the same car park, reached by stepped paths of increasing effort, and the highest ends in a pocket of afromontane rainforest that feels nothing like the grassland you drove through to get there.
The view itself is straight down the escarpment and out over the Lowveld. On a clear day you are looking towards the Kruger.
Go early. Cloud sits on the escarpment for much of the summer and it is entirely possible to arrive at a viewpoint with no view. Being fifteen minutes away means you can try again the next morning at no real cost.
Lisbon Falls
20 minutes from the lodgeallow 30 minutes
You look at Lisbon Falls from the rim rather than from the base, and the viewpoint is a couple of minutes from where you park. The water splits into two ribbons most of the year and three when the river is running hard after rain.
It is the tallest waterfall in the province, and because you are level with the top of it rather than standing underneath, the scale takes a moment to register.
Berlin Falls
25 minutes from the lodgeallow 30 minutes
Berlin is the tidier of the two waterfalls on this stretch. The river is squeezed through a rock chute just above the lip, so instead of spreading out it drops as a single white column into a pool that stays a very dark green all year.
Like Lisbon, the viewpoint is a short walk from the car park, and the two are close enough together that most people do them back to back.
Bourke's Luck Potholes
45 minutes from the lodgeallow 1 to 2 hours
Where the Treur runs into the Blyde, grit caught in the current has spent an unreasonable length of time drilling cylindrical shafts down into pale sandstone. The result looks less like a river and more like something machined.
A circuit of footbridges takes you out over and between the pools, which makes this the one stop on the route you actually walk around rather than look at from a railing. There is a visitor centre, and this is the gateway to the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve.
Allow more time here than you think. The bridge circuit is longer than it looks from the car park, and it is the most interesting thing to walk on the entire route.
Three Rondavels
1 hour from the lodgeallow 45 minutes
The furthest of the classic stops from Graskop and the natural place to turn around. The viewpoint looks along the Blyde River Canyon, one of the largest green canyons anywhere, with three rounded peaks rising off the far wall above the dam.
They are named for the round thatched huts they resemble, which is the same shape as the rondavels you will be sleeping in back in Graskop.
One-day and two-day itineraries
Most guests who plan a one-day itinerary wish they had booked two days. It is the walking at Bourke's Luck that catches people out.
One day, from Graskop
Leave early for God's Window while the escarpment is still clear, picking up the Pinnacle on the way. Run north through Lisbon and Berlin Falls to Bourke's Luck, and finish at the Three Rondavels in the early afternoon. Back in Graskop by late afternoon. About 160 kilometres of driving and a long but comfortable day.
Two days, less rushed
Take the Gorge Lift on the first morning, then the Pinnacle, God's Window and the waterfalls, and be back for lunch in the village. Go north the next day for Bourke's Luck and the Three Rondavels with time to actually walk, and come home through Pilgrim's Rest.
More things to do nearby
Two more worth the drive if you have a second day.
Pilgrim's Rest
35 minutes from the lodge
A preserved gold-rush town from the 1870s, now a national monument, with its original corrugated-iron shopfronts intact.
Mac Mac Falls
20 minutes from the lodge
A 65-metre twin waterfall named after the Scottish miners who worked the valley. There are separate pools upstream for swimming.
Questions we get asked
How long does it take to drive the Panorama Route?
One full day covers the classic stops if you start early. From Graskop it is roughly 160 km of driving in a loop north and back, with seven or eight stops of twenty minutes to two hours each. Two days is more comfortable and lets you add Pilgrim's Rest and walk the bridges at Bourke's Luck Potholes properly.
Where does the Panorama Route start and end?
There is no official start or end. The route is a series of viewpoints along the R532 and R534 between Graskop and the Blyde River Canyon. Most self-drivers begin at Graskop, run north to the Three Rondavels, and return the same way. Starting from Sabie or Hazyview adds an hour of driving before you reach the first stop.
What are the must-see attractions on the Panorama Route?
God's Window for the view over the Lowveld, Bourke's Luck Potholes for the rock formations, and the Three Rondavels for the Blyde River Canyon. If you only have half a day, do those three. The Graskop Gorge Lift, the Pinnacle, and Lisbon and Berlin Falls fill out a full day.
How far is God's Window from Graskop Gorge?
About ten minutes by car. The Graskop Gorge Lift is on the edge of Graskop itself, and God's Window is roughly fifteen minutes north of the village on the R534. The Pinnacle sits between the two, so all three are easily done in one morning.
Where should I stay to drive the Panorama Route?
Graskop is the most practical base. It sits in the middle of the route, so every major stop is within an hour's drive and most are within twenty-five minutes, and it has places to eat. Staying in Nelspruit or Hazyview adds an hour each way before you reach the first viewpoint. Summit Lodge is on Mark Street in Graskop, with rooms from R220 a night.
Is Graskop worth visiting?
As a base, yes. It is a small village rather than a destination in itself, but it is the closest town to the main viewpoints, it has the Graskop Gorge Lift on its doorstep, and it is about 45 minutes from Kruger's Phabeni Gate. Most people use it as somewhere to sleep and eat between days on the escarpment.
When is the best time to drive the Panorama Route?
Early morning, in any season. Cloud sits on the escarpment through much of the summer and often clears the viewpoints by mid-morning, so the earlier you reach God's Window the better your odds of a view. Winter, from April to September, is drier and clearer but the waterfalls carry less water.
Can you do the Panorama Route without a car?
Not easily. There is no public transport between the viewpoints and they are spread over about 60 km of road. Guided day tours run from Graskop, Hazyview and Nelspruit, and most lodges in Graskop, including Summit Lodge, can arrange one through reception.
Stay in the middle of the route
Summit Lodge is on Mark Street in Graskop. Thatched rondavels sleep two, self-catering units with their own kitchen sleep four, and a converted South African Railways coach takes groups of up to eight. Rates run from R220 to R1 800 a night, booked direct with reception, so there is no commission on top.