Vredefort Dome

About two billion years ago an asteroid perhaps ten to fifteen kilometres across struck here, and the crater it made - originally estimated at up to 300 kilometres across - is the largest and oldest verified impact structure on earth. Erosion has removed the crater itself; what remains is the dome, the central uplift where deep rock rebounded upward and now stands as a ring of hills around Parys, and the shattered rock beneath. That is the honest thing to understand before visiting: there is no bowl to look into. What you see are hills of overturned strata, shatter cones in the rock where the shock wave passed, and pseudotachylite, rock melted by the impact. It carries a UNESCO listing on that geology. The Vaal River runs through the dome, and most visitors come to raft it or spend a weekend in Parys, with guided geology walks for those who want the story.

What you actually see

• The central uplift - hills of rebounded deep rock, not a crater bowl.
• The shatter cones - fan-shaped fractures left by the impact shock wave.
• The two-billion-year age - the oldest and largest verified impact structure on earth.
• The Vaal River - rafting through the middle of the dome from Parys.

When to go

April to September. A day. Book a geology guide if the impact story is the reason you came.

Honest expectations

There is no visible crater - people expecting one are disappointed. The geology needs a guide to be legible; without one it is farmland and hills. Much of the dome is private land. River levels vary and rafting is seasonal.

Nearby

Parys is the base town; Johannesburg is a short drive north-east.