The best of Blyde River Canyon tours
From waterfalls, birdwatching, boat tours to wildlife, experiencing the Blyde River Canyon is an adventure of a lifetime. What is involved in this tour?
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The Blyde River Canyon, which is 26 km long, is only one of the many natural wonders and tourist attractions in the South African province of Mpumalanga.
It’s not as big as the Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA, or the Fish River Canyon in neighbouring Namibia, but it’s still up there with the biggest canyons on Earth. Subtropical flora predominates in the Blyde River Canyon, giving it the nickname “green canyon” in contrast to the Grand Canyon and Fish River Canyon.
The Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve safeguards the area’s cultural and natural treasures throughout 29,000 acres of the canyon and its environs. Hiking, birdwatching, boat tours, and wildlife viewing are just few of the tourism activities available at the reserve.
As the Blyde River Canyon Reserve meanders downstream, more and more breathtaking vistas open up before you.
The canyon and the surrounding Drakensberg escarpment are major tourist draws, and the region has a thriving tourism business backed by first-rate public facilities.
As such, many visitors to Mpumalanga opt to combine a safari in Kruger National Park with a journey to the breathtaking Panorama Route and Blyde River Canyon.
The beauty of a Blyde River Canyon tour
The Blyde River Canyon is one of the most famous tourist destinations in South Africa due to the large number of foreign visitors it receives each year. In addition to generating income and jobs, tourism also opens up new avenues for environmental protection and academic exploration.
The length of time spent on a tour of Blyde River Canyon varies but is usually a full day. Moderate physical fitness is necessary as the excursion includes some walking and trekking. Transportation, a tour guide, and stops at multiple locations within the canyon are all standard features of Blyde River Canyon Tours.
All three of South Africa’s endemic loerie species can be found at the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve, which boasts nearly all of the habitat types that attract birds.
In addition to the Cape vulture, black eagle, crowned eagle, African fish eagle, gymnogene, jackal buzzard, white-rumped vulture, bald ibis, African finfoot, Knysna lourie, purple-crested lourie, Gurney’s sugarbird, malachite kingfisher, and a number of other species can be found here.
Added to this, including larger and lesser bush babies, vervet monkeys, and Samango monkeys, the Blyde River Canyon is home to every type of primate found in South Africa.
Klipspringer and dassies are able to forage for food and find safe haven in rocky areas. Animals as diverse as the grey rhebuck and the unusual oribi, rodents, reptiles, seed-eating birds, and an abundance of insects call the grassland home.
Finally, The Kadishi tufa waterfall in the Blyde River Canyon is a stunning natural feature. Located at the end of the Blyde Dam, this tufa waterfall is the second highest in the world and plunges 200 metres from a limestone shelf into the Blydepoort Dam. Only a handful of living tufa waterfalls may be found across the entire planet. The Kadishi waterfall is often referred to as “nature’s weeping face”.
Indulge your mind and create great memories by considering this destination.
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