God's Window

God's Window is the best-known viewpoint on the Panorama Route: a set of lookouts on the lip of the Drakensberg escarpment where the ground falls roughly a kilometre to the Lowveld, with the Kruger lowlands running to the horizon and, in exceptional visibility, a haze that people insist is Mozambique. A stepped path climbs to the rainforest lookout, a patch of moist forest sustained by the cloud that condenses on the edge - ferns, mosses and dripping trees a few metres from open grassland. The catch is weather. The escarpment generates its own cloud and the viewpoints are inside it for a large share of the year, particularly in summer mornings and after rain, and there is no refund for a white wall. Curio stalls fill the parking area. Early mornings in the dry season are the best odds.

Highlights

• The escarpment drop - about a kilometre down to the Lowveld plain.
• The rainforest lookout - moist forest on the edge, fed by condensing cloud.
• The Lowveld horizon - Kruger's lowlands running east in clear conditions.
• The cloud problem - a viewpoint that is inside mist much of the year.

When to go

April to September, early morning, for the best chance of clear air. One hour.

Practical notes

There is a real chance of seeing nothing but cloud - this is the single most common complaint about the site. Steps to the top lookout are steep. Curio sellers are persistent. Car break-ins have been reported at Panorama Route parking areas.

Nearby

Graskop and the Pinnacle are close; Blyde River Canyon is north.

Key facts