Duration
~5.5 hours return
Distance
14 km return
Elevation gain
450 m
Difficulty
T2 — moderate
Falls base
1700 m
Beneath the Amphitheatre
The Tugela Gorge walk follows the river upstream to the foot of the Amphitheatre, a five kilometre wall of basalt over a kilometre high, down which the Tugela Falls drop in five stages, the second tallest waterfall in the world. The path winds through the gorge crossing and recrossing the river, ending with a scramble over boulders and a short chain ladder to the pool below the falls.
The trail starts in the Royal Natal National Park. The falls run hardest after summer rain, in the dry winter they can thin to a thread.
The final stretch involves boulder hopping and a chain ladder. The river floods fast after a storm, do not cross in high water.