Modjadji Cycad Reserve

The Modjadji cycad, Encephalartos transvenosus, grows here in a stand of many thousands on a misty hillside - the largest concentration of a single cycad species anywhere, with individual plants reaching thirteen metres and ages in the hundreds of years. Cycads are an ancient plant lineage that predates flowering plants, and this forest looks the part. The reason it survives is cultural: the Modjadji dynasty, the Rain Queens of the Balobedu, have protected the grove for generations, and the plants were regarded as sacred and associated with the queen's rainmaking authority. That protection kept collectors away when cycads were being stripped out of the wild across southern Africa - a trade that remains one of the biggest threats to the group. The reserve is high, often in cloud, and looks out over the Molototsi valley.

The landscape

• The cycad forest - thousands of plants of one species, some thirteen metres tall.
• The ancient lineage - a plant group older than flowering plants, in a stand that looks it.
• The Rain Queen protection - a grove preserved by the Modjadji dynasty for generations.
• The misty valley - a high hillside often in cloud above the Molototsi.

When to go

April to September. Two hours. Mist is common and can hide the view over the valley.

Before you go

The access road is steep with a rough final stretch. Facilities are minimal. Mist can close in for the whole visit. The site is culturally significant to the Balobedu, so it is a reserve visit rather than a place to wander freely.

Nearby

Tzaneen and the Magoebaskloof forests are south-west.