South African national parks

South Africa is home to a vast array of national parks. South African National Parks (SANParks) manages 19 parks covering 37,500 km², over 3% of the total area of South Africa, an area larger than Taiwan.

Many parks offer a variety of accommodations. The best known park is Kruger National Park, which is the largest, at nearly 20,000 km². Kruger National Park and Table Mountain National Park are two of South Africa's most visited tourist attractions.

Fees and permits

Wild Card

A daily conservation fee is charged at all national parks in South Africa, both for day visitors and visitors booking into accommodation in the parks. Should you plan an extended stay within the National Parks it may be cheaper to obtain a Wild Card. The Wild Card is valid for 1 year from the date of purchase and allows access to all SANParks, Cape Nature provincial parks (Western Cape), Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife provincial parks (KwaZulu-Natal), Msinsi private parks and some big game parks in Eswatini (Swaziland) without having to pay the daily conservation fee.

Destinations

South African national parks are administrated by SANParks.

• 1 Addo Elephant National Park — famous for its elephant population, it is also home to ostriches, different antelopes and warthogs, lions and spotted hyenas
• 2 Agulhas National Park — the southernmost tip of Africa
• 3 Ai-Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park — a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the Namibian border
• 4 Augrabies Falls National Park — the Augrabies Falls are about 60 m high and are awe-inspiring when the river is in flood
• 5 Bontebok National Park — home to the endangered Bontebok, Mountain Zebra, Red Hartebeest, and smaller antelopes
• 6 Camdeboo National Park — most famous for the Valley of Desolation, where breathtaking cliffs and columns of rock form a haven for dozens of birds species
• 7 Golden Gate Highlands National Park — known for its golden, ochre, and orange-hued sandstone cliffs and outcrops, and numerous caves and shelters displaying San rock paintings
• 8 Karoo National Park — This semi-desert area is a sanctuary for herds of springbok, Oryx, zebra, buffalo, hartebeest, rhinoceros, eland, kudu, klipspringer, bat-eared foxes, black-backed jackal, ostriches, and lions
• 9 Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park — offers an infinite desert landscape with migrating herds of wildebeest, gemsbok, springbok and eland, and predators like lion, cheetah and leopard
• 10 Knysna National Lake Area — this part of the Garden Route National Park includes the Knysna Estuary, which is important for its botanical diversity, for conserving fish, and for waterbird conservation
• 11 Kruger National Park — the flagship of South African National Parks
• 12 Mapungubwe National Park — elephants, lions, Nile crocodiles, giraffes and antelopes, 400 bird species, and lots of baobab trees
• 13 Marakele National Park — home to the Big Five game animals, it is dominated by the Waterberg mountains with lush bushveld in the lower regions of the park
• 14 Mokala National Park — home to Rhino (Both black and White Rhino), Buffalo, Tsessebe, Roan Antelope, Mountain Reedbuck, Giraffe, Gemsbok, Eland, Zebra, Red Hartebeest, Blue Wildebeest, Black Wildebeest, Kudu, Ostrich, Steenbok, Duiker and Springbok
• 15 Mountain Zebra National Park — home to the very rare and endangered mountain zebra, whose population has recovered from 20 a few decades ago to 1000 in 2021
• 16 Namaqua National Park — home to the richest bulb flora of any arid region in the world and more than 1 000 of its estimated 3 500 plant species are found nowhere else on earth
• 17 Table Mountain National Park — contains two well-known landmarks: Table Mountain, and the Cape of Good Hope, the most southwestern extremity of Africa
• 18 Tankwa Karoo National Park — one of the most arid regions of South Africa, it is home to a large variety of birds, such as the black-headed canary, Ludwig's bustard, and the black-eared sparrow-lark
• 19 Tsitsikamma National Park — this section of the Garden Route National Park offers fine coastal scenery and whale-watching
• 20 West Coast National Park — this unique wetland is one of the most important bird sanctuaries in the world
• 21 Wilderness National Park — this part of the Garden Route National Park has rivers, lakes, estuaries and beaches, agains a backdrop of lush forests and imposing mountains

National parks administrated by KZNwildlife (selection):

• 22 Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park — the only state-run park in KwaZulu-Natal where each of the big five game animals can be found is known for its conservation efforts, the park now has one of the largest populations of white rhinoceros in the world

See also

• National parks