Main fall
From the platforms.
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Augrabies Falls National Park protects a waterfall on the Orange River, South Africa's largest river, in the dry Northern Cape, about 91 km in a straight line west of the town of Upington. The park was created in 1966 and covers about 820 square kilometres along the river. The main fall drops about 56 m into a narrow gorge of pale granite, and when the river is in flood a wall of water pours over several channels at once. Below it the gorge runs for about 18 km and is some 240 m deep in places, cut by the river into the rock. The Khoekhoe people who lived here called the falls Ankoerebis, «the place of great noise», which gave the name Augrabies. Boardwalks and viewing platforms lead from the rest camp to the edge of the main fall and the gorge. Beyond them, roads and trails cross a stark landscape of bare granite domes, quiver trees and dry riverbeds, with lookouts such as Moon Rock and Ararat above the gorge. Klipspringers, rock dassies and many lizards live among the rocks. Summer days are very hot, so early mornings and the cooler months from April to September are best for walking. The falls are at their fullest after summer rains far upstream.
From the platforms.
Up to 240 m deep.
Granite dome.
Augrabies, Northern Cape, South Africa
After summer rains upstream.
April to September, when it is cooler.