TUGELA FALLS

The tallest waterfall in the world looms over the Drakensberg. Comprising five different drops, Tugela Falls is today understood to be the highest waterfall in the world. This is not, however, on one’s mind when you’re standing above a kilometre of waterfall. 

Tugela is the Zulu word for “sudden” or “startling.” While a destination on a hike is seldom a sudden thing, the feeling is. Not many can say that they stood on the edge of the world and watched water plummet into the abyss of the valley below. Once you do, we hope that the feeling lingers. Looking at it, one notices that the fall is not one continuous flow. It cascades in five distinct steps, the tallest of which is around 400m high. 

The best place to set out to Tugela Falls is definitely from the Sentinel Peak parking lot, which is accessed from Witsieshoek Mountain Lodge via a 4×4 shuttle. (book here). 

For a preview, you can take a look at Google’s street view, which was hiked up to Tugela Falls. We’ve put some links to landmarks on the hike below. (Update:  This ”street view” is a little old – the pathways, signage and safety features along the hike have improved over time.) To see Tugela Falls raging through, skip to 1 minute in the video below.