About Soutpansberg Conservancy
The Soutpansberg Conservancy, consisting of 90 000 hectares, was formed to protect an incredibly sensitive and beautiful part of the world. Drive across the arid, flat vastness of the northern Limpopo Province, and the sandstone of the Soutpansberg intermittently breaks into view. That and the intensely green forests of the area are what is so attractive about coming here.
Did you know? Soutpansberg or “Tha vhani ya muno” means mountain of salt,
The Soutpansberg is littered with yellowwood trees, forest fever trees, giant cabbage trees, proteas, ancient tree ferns, and another 500 or so tree species that make this terrain pretty unique and worth protecting.
The Soutpansberg is also a key area to understanding the early relationships between Khoi, San and Bantu cultures, not least because of the plethora of rock art that litters caves and overhangs in the Soutpansberg. Specialists indicate the salt pans north of here as the main reason for such a gathering of people in these mountains, who probably used the Soutpansberg as refuge from the surrounding dry plains.
The Soutpansberg Mountains run for about 130 kilometres from east to west and are up to 60 kilometres wide. You don't so much climb them as venture into them; the lower slopes littered with valleys and impassable bush whilst the heights take one through a canopy forest often shrouded in clouds.
In the northern most area of the Soutpansberg there are forests of baobabs and the highest slopes of the mountains have fine examples of fynbos. The Soutpansberg boasts 30% of South Africa's tree species, even though it covers barely 0.5% of the country's surface area.
The Soutpansberg is home to 60% of its birdlife, 40% of its mammals and 30% of its reptile species. No wonder it's known as “the pantry” for its exceptional richness of life.
The Soutpansberg is a region of national and international conservation importance as a high number of plant and wildlife species are found only here and nowhere else. This vast dominating range of mountains, stretching in a mighty panorama from east to west across the northern reaches of the Limpopo Province of South Africa, is unique in its splendour and beauty.
The myths and legends of the people of the North are interwoven into the mist-shrouded peaks and crags of these beautiful mountains. The trees, the plants and animals, many endemic to the region - ancient ruins of a people long gone - a legacy of rock engravings to mark the passage of the San hunters and gatherers many centuries before, combine to create fascinating insight into an area and its people.
Need to Know
WhereSoutpansberg Conservancy, 2km from Louis Trichardt / Makhado, Soutpansberg Region, Limpopo, South Africa
WhenBest during daylight hours.
Telephone+27 (0)15 293-3600
OvernightStay in Soutpansberg Accommodation, Limpopo
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QueenBee Apartment
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Iphofolo Lodge
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Kaoxa Bush Camp
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De Akker Gastehuis
De Akker Gastehuis offers accommodation in Louis Trichardt, a town in the Soutpansberg mountain range in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. Ne...
BlackBee Apartment
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Noteworthy attractions
Ben Lavin Nature Reserve
The rather heady mix of assorted sour bushveld, riverine woodland that lines the almost always arid watercourses, and vast plains of thornveld se...
Mapungubwe National Park
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Lake Fundudzi
The enchanted body of water known as Lake Fundudzi is a sacred lake of the Venda people that lies in the heart of the Soutpansberg and is one of ...
Blouberg Nature Reserve
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Langjan Nature Reserve
Lying just north east of Blouberg Nature Reserve, on the R521 to Alldays, west of Makhado, the Langjan Nature Reserve is typified by gorgeous red...
Nwanedi Game Reserve
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Louis Trichardt Golf Club
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Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve
In what can only be described as the far northern reaches of South Africa lies the 36 000 hectare Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve in the Limpopo V...
Thathe Vondo Forest
Regarded as the most majestic and beautiful forest in the Limpopo region, Thathe Vondo is also regarded as sacred by the local Venda people. Folk...
Accommodation near Soutpansberg Conservancy
FIND / South Africa Accommodation / Limpopo Accommodation / Vhembe Accommodation / Soutpansberg Accommodation