The Panorama Route in South Africa is, just as it sounds, incredibly scenic.

And I only found out about it because fellow travelers raved about a place called Blyde River Canyon:

That’s magnificent, right? I began to research the area and found out there’s a whole string of impressive viewpoints nearby. It’s called the Panorama Route, and it’s roughly 70 km (45 miles) one-way starting in Graskop. It’s not part of a bigger loop (that I’m aware of) so I drive up and back in the same day. If you do it straight through, it’s only an hour and 15 minutes, but trust me — you’ll want to stop at many viewpoints along the way. Here’s a look at the map:

These are the best areas to pull over along the way, listed in order from Graskop:

• Pinnacle Rock
• God’s Window
• Lisbon Falls
• Berlin Falls
• Bourke’s Luck Potholes
• Lowveld View
• Three Rondavels Viewpoint (aka Blyde River Canyon)

Most of these places cost between 5-10 rand to visit (that’s between 35 to 70 cents in USD) — a very nominal fee to access these views. The only exception is Bourke’s Luck Potholes, which costs 30 rand per person PLUS 20 rand per car for parking (50 rand is about $3.60 USD at the time of writing).

The views heading out of Graskop are pretty, too:

Pinnacle Rock is a tower of quartzite that’s nearly 100 feet tall, emerging from the canyon floor below:

Next up is God’s Window. There’s a parking lot and a short hike with many viewpoints like this one:

One last shot from the aptly named God’s Window:

Moving on to the next spot…

This is Lisbon Falls, which immediately wins me over with its dramatic drop (300 feet) and colorful wildflowers.

And just beyond Lisbon Falls is Berlin Falls, a different sort of waterfall but just as scenic. This drop is about 250 feet into a pool of copper water:

Next up is Bourke’s Luck Potholes. I have to admit this name confused me — why should I care about potholes? — but as you’ll see from the next few photos, it’s much prettier than its name suggests. This one involves more of a walk from the parking lot but it’s not strenuous.

The river below is downright orange in color. I’ve never seen water like that.

I spy the potholes…

Prettier than you expected, right?

There’s also a series of small waterfalls were visitors are allowed to walk around:

On to the next stop… Lowveld View. This is the warm-up view to the grandaddy view of the entire Panorama Route — Blyde River Canyon, which you can sort of see in the distance.

A neon-colored lizard jumps into view below:

Okay, now I’m at the final and most impressive stop on the whole route — Blyde River Canyon, as viewed from the Three Rondavels View Point. This is the primary reason why I’m here today.

I’m used to seeing canyons like this covered in bare rock without any vegetation (think the area around the Grand Canyon in the U.S. or Fish River Canyon in Namibia), but instead this one is covered in green:

Those are the Three Rondavels in the distance:

Rondavels are a popular style of thatched-roof circular homes in Africa, so you can see how these rock formations earned their name. A closer look:

That’s a wrap on Blyde River Canyon and the Panorama Route. If you’re headed back to Graskop afterwards, remember to stop at Harrie’s Pancakes for a sweet treat, as I did. It’s the perfect way to cap off the afternoon.

If you are visiting Kruger National Park, do yourselves a favor and add on an extra day (or at least afternoon) to drive along the Panorama Route. The views are very much worth it.