All activities / Trekking / Hiking / Malolotja Nature Reserve
Trekking / Hiking in Malolotja Nature Reserve
An 18,000-hectare wilderness of high-veld grassland, waterfalls and quartzite peaks in north-west Eswatini, the kingdom's largest protected area. Unfenced and rugged, Malolotja has more than 200 kilometres of hiking and backpacking trails, over 280 recorded bird species and a zipline canopy tour strung across the Majolomba gorge.
Why here
Malolotja is the best walking country in Eswatini and one of the finest stretches of montane wilderness in southern Africa. This is high-veld at its wildest: rolling grassland cut by the Komati and Nkomati gorges, quartzite ridges that are among the oldest rock on earth, and the kingdom's tallest waterfall dropping through the Malolotja gorge. The reserve is unfenced, so you share the trails with zebra, blesbok, wildebeest and the odd leopard, and it holds over 280 bird species including breeding blue swallow and bald ibis. You can day-walk to the falls or take a two-, three- or four-night slackpacking trail sleeping in wilderness camps, carrying only a daypack while your kit moves ahead. For a shorter thrill there is the Malolotja canopy tour, a series of ziplines and a suspension bridge above the Majolomba river. It is quiet, cheap and remote, a rarity this close to a capital city.
Best months
The dry months from April to September give the most reliable hiking: clear skies, firm ground and cool days, with cold nights and occasional frost on the higher ridges. Spring, from September into November, brings wildflowers and the best birding as migrants arrive. The summer rains from November to March can flood river crossings and bring afternoon mist and thunderstorms to the tops, so multi-day trails are harder and some routes close. Water is available along the trails but should be treated.
Getting there & around
The reserve gate is off the MR1 north-west of Mbabane, about a 40-minute drive from the capital and reachable by hire car. Day walks start from the visitor centre; multi-day slackpacking and backpacking trails must be booked ahead and some require a minimum group size. Accommodation is a campsite and self-catering cabins near the gate. Bring all your own food, a water filter, warm layers for the cold nights and sturdy boots for the steep gorge descents. The canopy tour is booked separately at the gate.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate
Schools & guides (2)
All Out Africa
OutfitterAll Out Africa is a destination-management company based at Ezulwini in Eswatini that designs guided walks and multi-day slackpacking trails in Malolotja Nature Reserve, the kingdom's largest protected area at 18,000 hectares. Its Malolotja programme runs one- to four-night routes through the montane grassland and river gorges, with wilderness camps, canoeing and conservation volunteering, and it books the Malolotja zipline canopy tour above the Majolomba river.
Eswatini National Trust Commission
OrganizerThe Eswatini National Trust Commission is the parastatal that has protected the kingdom's natural and cultural heritage since 1972, custodian of the Malolotja, Mlawula, Mantenga and Hawane reserves. Malolotja covers 18,000 hectares of unfenced high-veld grassland, waterfalls and the Nkomati gorge, threaded by more than 200 kilometres of marked day-walk and multi-day backpacking trails. The Trust runs the reserve gate, the campsite and the self-catering cabins where trails begin.