Lisbon Falls

The Lisbon River drops about ninety-four metres over a sheer lip into a wooded amphitheatre, splitting into two or three separate streams depending on flow - which makes this the highest waterfall on the Panorama Route and the one most worth stopping for on a day of stops. The viewing area sits on the rim opposite, so you see the whole drop at once rather than looking down on it, and a rough path descends towards the base for anyone with time and decent shoes. The names in this area - Lisbon, Berlin, Graskop - come from nineteenth-century gold prospectors naming claims after home. Craft and food stalls work the car park. The falls run hardest in the summer rain months and thin noticeably by late winter, which is the trade-off against the clearer air of the dry season.

What you actually see

• The 94-metre drop - the tallest waterfall on the Panorama Route.
• The split curtain - two or three separate streams depending on the flow.
• The rim viewpoint - the full fall seen head-on from opposite.
• The prospector names - European place names left by nineteenth-century gold claims.

When to go

November to April for volume; the dry season is clearer but thinner. Half an hour.

Honest expectations

It is a roadside stop with stalls and a fee, not a hike. The path towards the base is rough, unmaintained and slippery. Winter flow can be disappointing. Car break-ins have been reported at Panorama Route car parks - leave nothing visible.

Nearby

Berlin Falls and God's Window are along the same route; Graskop is south.