Malolotja
Some 18,000 hectares of mountain grassland and gorge in north-west Eswatini, with a canopy tour above the Majolomba River and an iron-ore mine first worked more than 43,000 years ago.
- Arrival
- King Mswati III International · SHO
- To the reserve
- About 64 km from SHO in a straight line
- Private jets
- At SHO; Jet A1 by bowser, no hangars
- Best time
- April to September
The city
High ground in the north-west.
Malolotja is the largest proclaimed protected area in the country, and the trust that runs it calls it the last unspoilt mountain wilderness in Eswatini. Grey rhebok and oribi graze the slopes with zebra, eland and blesbok. Birders come for the numbers: more than 280 species have been recorded, over half the national list, and blue swallows, blue cranes and bald ibis breed here.
Beds inside the reserve are simple, eight self-catering cabins and a campsite. For a four- or five-star hotel, look to Mbabane, about 22 km to the south, or the Ezulwini Valley beyond it. The dry months, April to September, are the time for walking.
- Lion Cavern, Ngwenya People dug iron ore from this hillside more than 43,000 years ago; machines came back to it between 1958 and 1979.
- Canopy tour Eleven platforms and ten slides through the forest, with a 50-metre suspension bridge over the Majolomba River.
- Birding on the grassland Look for Stanley's bustard and the blue swallow among more than 280 recorded species.
Arriving
Across the country from the airport.
Eswatini has one international airport, King Mswati III, in the east of the country and about 64 km from the reserve as the crow flies. Its runway, close to 3.6 km long, can take a Boeing 777.
- Johannesburg 45 min
- Cape Town 2 h 15
- Nairobi 4 h 00
- Addis Ababa 5 h 30
- London 12 h 05 long-range jet
When to go
April to September.
These are Mbabane's averages, about 20 km south and the nearest long-term series. Highs stay between 18 and 24 °C through the year. From April to September the hills are dry, with 15 to 84 mm a month; summer storms bring 244 mm in January.
- 24° J 244
- 24° F 196
- 24° M 140
- 22° A 84
- 20° M 33
- 18° J 15
- 19° J 20
- 20° A 33
- 22° S 66
- 22° O 127
- 22° N 191
- 24° D 198
Where to stay
Down the road in Mbabane and the valley.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
-
The Royal Villas A villa can be taken whole, with its own cook and waiter, and the Lihawu restaurant seats 130.
-
Hilton Garden Inn Mbabane The capital's Hilton, 124 rooms on Mhlambanyatsi Road.
Where to dine
The nearest good table.
No guide rates Eswatini’s restaurants. Lihawu, at The Royal Villas in the Ezulwini Valley, is the restaurant Lonely Planet calls the most elegant in the country.
- Lihawu Lonely Planet African fusion The Royal Villas, Ezulwini Valley, about 34 km
Flying to Malolotja?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.