Giant's Castle
| Giant's Castle | ||
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| height | 3315 m | |
| location | South Africa | |
| Mountains | Drakensberg | |
| Coordinates | 29 ° 20 ′ 0 ″ S , 29 ° 29 ′ 0 ″ E | |
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| rock | basalt | |
The Giant's Castle is a mountain in the Drakensberg mountain range in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa . It got its name because its western profile should be reminiscent of the silhouette of a sleeping giant.
geography
The mountain is part of the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park and is located at the southern end of the central stock of the Drakensberg. In front of the massif to the north-west lies the Champagne Castle , which drops off abruptly before the border area with Lesotho . To the north is the almost 3000 m high Sterkhorn, which merges into the higher Cathkin Peak in an easterly direction . Two more 3000 m peaks are adjacent to the south. In the southwest lie the Njesuthi and Mafadi and in the southeast Monk's Cowl .
Giant's Castle essentially consists of a grassy plateau , which is delimited by sharp edges into the surrounding valley floor. The mountain range is home to the protected area Giant's Castle Game Reserve .
fauna
The game reserve of Giant's Castle was established in 1903 and extends over 25 km from the ridge of Giant's Castle to the Njesuthi River. The eland and roe deer antelopes, which are widespread in the South African territory , are also at home here, as well as various horn-bearers , the great spotted buck and reedbuck , and crown duiker . There are up to 160 different species of birds there. The reserve is the only small habitat for bearded vultures ( lammergeier ) in South Africa. Other birds of prey are represented by the jackal buzzard , the coffee eagle , the Cape vulture and the Lanner falcon .
Culture
The mountain range offers visitors excellent hiking opportunities with similar views. The Bushman's River Trail is particularly popular . The hosting of MTB marathons is also very popular . This cross-country event takes place in April each year.
In some caves there are petroglyphs of the San . These are easier to track down here than those at Lephalale in the Waterberg region . Best known is the Battle Cave , a huge rock ledge. The representations of the San are intended to thematize spirit journeys and hallucinatory dreams .
See also
List of mountains and elevations in South Africa
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Willie and Sandra Olivier, Hiking Trails of South Africa ( Memento of the original from February 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Fisch, p. 31; Hagemann, p. 11
- ↑ James Bainbridge, Lonely Planet Travel Guide South Africa - Lesotho & Swaziland
Web links
literature
- Jörg Fisch : History of South Africa . dtv, Munich 1990. ISBN 3-423-04550-7
- Albrecht Hagemann: Small history of South Africa . Beck, Munich 2004. ISBN 3-406-51101-5