Located on the southern tip of the African continent, South Africa offers an enormous variety of landscapes and is a popular hiking destination. Famous are the alpine Drakensberg mountain range, the Blyde River Canyon, the Eastern Cape Wild Coast, Cedarberg, and the Otter Trail along the southern Tsitsikamma Coast. And there is so much more!

South Africa counts a full 21 National Parks, many of which have hiking or backpacking trails. Take a look at the excellent website of South African National Parks (or SANParks), which also offers online bookings.

Hiking being popular, there are a multitude of other hiking clubs and tour operators offering their services, ranging from booking lodging to providing guides and even transporting your luggage from one hut to the next (euphemistically called 'slackpacking').

Surrounded by both the Atlantic and Indian Ocean, South Africa's climate is largely temperate, though there are some inland extremes in terms of high and low temperatures. Best time for hiking in South Africa is generally during the dry and cool season, between March and November.