Champagne Valley

Champagne Valley runs up towards Champagne Castle, at 3,377 metres one of the highest peaks in the country, and Cathkin Peak beside it, which stands forward of the escarpment and often looks larger. Unlike the wilder Drakensberg valleys this one is developed: hotels, self-catering resorts, a golf course, craft shops and restaurants along the R600, which makes it the usual choice for people who want mountains without roughing it. Activities are organised - horse riding, a canopy tour on cables through a forested gorge, a bird of prey centre, trout dams. The Drakensberg Boys Choir School has its campus here and gives regular public concerts, which is a genuinely odd thing to find at the foot of an escarpment. Serious walking starts from Monk's Cowl reserve at the head of the valley, where the paths to Blind Man's Corner and the high berg begin.

What you actually see

• Champagne Castle and Cathkin - peaks over 3,300 metres closing the valley head.
• The developed strip - hotels, restaurants and craft stops along the R600.
• The canopy tour - cable runs through a forested gorge off the valley.
• Monk's Cowl - the reserve where the real mountain walking starts.

When to go

March to May and September to November. Two days. School holidays fill every resort.

Honest expectations

This is the commercial Drakensberg - people looking for wilderness should go to Injisuthi or Cathedral Peak instead. Cloud sits on the peaks often, and the postcard view is not guaranteed. Activities are priced individually and add up.

Nearby

Monk's Cowl is at the head of the valley; Injisuthi is north.