Tugela Falls via the Chain Ladders | The Drakensberg Amphitheatre in 4K

Earlier in the year, Amy, Emily and I spent a night above Tugela Falls - newly crowned as the highest waterfall in the world!

The hike to the top of the Amphitheatre is easily the hike with best reward to effort ratio of any in the Drakensberg Mountains, and perhaps a contender for that title across the whole country. The road from Witsieshoek mountain lodge takes you to a cark park high on the slopes of the Sentinel, from where an initially steep but straightforward path takes you to the base of the infamous chain ladders, past some spectacular views of the Amphitheatre's cliff face. The chain ladders themselves cement this route's status as the most iconic path to the summit of the Drakensberg, and are just the right balance of thrilling but still accessible.

After climbing the chain ladders, we made our way across the escarpment to the top of the falls themselves. Despite the hike being a lot easier than many others, I'd tried and failed several times previously to get to that point, sometimes for logistical reasons, and others because of severe storms coming in (as in my earlier video), so it was great to finally see the falls in their full glory! We decided to explore a bit further along the cliff line, got some views from further south, but in the end chose to camp very close to the falls themselves. The next morning, we woke up for a wonderfully golden sunrise, then made our way back down the way we came. As a last challenge for the trip, I climbed the small peak next to the viewpoint at the base of the sentinel, which ended up being quite technical, and very rewarding!

Despite its massive popularity and relative simplicity, the rugged feeling of the Drakensberg's summit remains present, and it's a route that one should do at least once.

Contact me: @daniel_johnson_pmbpk
danjohnsonpeter@gmail.com

Music: Novo Amor - Like Gold
Lord Huron - Ends of the Earth (Alive from the Whispering Pines)