The Loerie Trail
Surely the most famous of the hiking trails in the Sabie valley and surrounds, the Loerie Trail starts at Castle Rock Caravan Park right by the Bridal Veil Falls. This is a semi challenging route that worms 10km through a beautiful landscape passing past beautiful and stunning waterfalls including the Elna and Glynis Falls. The trail climbs and rises up the sides of the valley giving hikers a great view of the landscape below.
The Trail gets its name from the very beautiful Green Knysna Loerie that has a chance to be spotted on the trail. The trail has a lot of beautiful natural streams and when the rains fall, the wildflowers and waterfalls make this one of the most beautiful places in the Lowveld.
The Graskop Day Trail
As part of the Fanie Botha Trail this trail begins at the Graskop Hut. If you are reasonably fit, this trail is a fairly easy one to do. The trail is about 13km long and winds through scenic Plantations during the first part of the trail, travelling deeper into the local bush. A highlight of this trail is the stunning Forest Falls with beautiful views and stunning landscapes, this route is perfect for bird watchers.
The Forest Falls Nature Trail
A great trail for family outings with members of all ages being able to enjoy the experience. This family friendly route is only 4 km and circles through the beautiful forest. This Trail starts at the Green Heritage Picnic site and takes you through the Pine Plantations, with the beautiful fragrances the Pines release making this a very relaxing and enjoyable route. The Route continues along the Mac Mac River right into the Forest Falls.
For those who are interested in plant life, you can see the names of the trees as you walk past them. Bird watching on this trail is also a treat as you can see a lot of different bird species that can be found In the local area.
What to know
To do these hikes, you must either have a permit to be on the premises or you have to pay an entry fee. All the permits and maps for the routes can be purchased from the Lowveld Tourism Information Center, Merry Pebbles, Mac Mac Forest Retreat, Valley View Backpackers or Komatiland Eco-Tourism. Make sure to be equipped with decent offroad shoes as the trails can be muddy and very slippery.
