Hugging the border with Lesotho, South Africa's premier mountain wilderness and is mostly a vast national park, officially known as the Ukhahlamba Drakensberg Park. The tallest range in southern Africa, the "Dragon Mountains" (or, in Zulu, the "barrier of spears") reach their highest peaks along the border with Lesotho. The range is actually an escarpment separating a high interior plateau from the coastal lowlands of KwaZulu-Natal, and is the source of many streams and rivers which flow out to the Indian and Atlantic oceans. Although this is a continuation of the same escarpment that divides the Mpumalanga highveld from the game-rich lowveld of the Kruger National Park, and continues into the northern section of the Eastern Cape, when people talk of the Berg, they invariably mean the range in KwaZulu-Natal.

For elating scenery – massive spires, rock buttresses, wide grasslands, glorious waterfalls, rivers, pools and fern-carpeted forests – the Ukhahlamba Drakensberg is unrivalled. Wild and unpopulated, it's a paradise for hiking. While the southern section of the Ukhahlamba Drakensberg lacks the drama and varied landscape found further north, it does have an outstanding highlight in the hair-raising Sani Pass, a precipitous series of hairpins that twist to the top of the escarpment, up to the highest point in southern Africa reachable on wheels. The Ukhahlamba Drakensberg is also a World Heritage Site, one of the richest San rock-art repositories in the world. There are more than six hundred recorded sites hidden all over the mountains (three easily accessible ones are at Giant's Castle, Injisuthi and Kamberg), featuring more than 22,000 individual paintings by the original inhabitants of the area.

Visitors to the Ukhahlamba Drakensberg can stay either in the self-catering and camping options provided by KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife, or in hotels or backpacker lodges outside the park, which are the most feasible option if you don't have your own transport. The highest concentration of hotels and resorts is in the Central Berg, midway between Johannesburg and Durban. As for the weather, summers are warm but wet, and sees dramatic thunderstorms, with lightning flashing across huge charcoal skies, as well as misty days that block out the views. Winters tend to be dry, sunny and chilly, and you can expect freezing nights and, on the high peaks, occasional snow. The best times for hiking are probably spring and autumn. As the weather can change rapidly at any time of year, always take sufficient clothing and food, and don't forget a hat – the sun is fierce and bright, even in winter.