UKhahlamba–Drakensberg Park 3.46

The uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park is in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa, covering 242813ha of area. The park includes Royal Natal National Park, a provincial park, and covers part of the Drakensberg, the highest mountain range in Southern Africa.The park and the adjoining Sehlabathebe National Park in the Kingdom of Lesotho are part of the Maloti-Drakensberg Park, which was first declared a World Heritage Site on 30 November 2000. It is described by UNESCO as having "exceptional natural beauty in its soaring basaltic buttresses, incisive dramatic cutbacks, and golden sandstone ramparts... the site’s diversity of habitats protects a high level of endemic and globally threatened species, especially birds and plants... also contains many caves and rock-shelters with the largest and most concentrated group of paintings in Africa south of the Sahara".Plans to boost tourism in the area include a long-awaited cable car project by the KZN Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs Department.FaunaThe Drakensberg mountain range is characterized by a high level of endemism of both invertebrates and vertebrates.ConservationMost of the higher South African parts of the Drakensberg mountain range have been designated as game reserves or wilderness areas. The uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park is also in the List of Wetlands of International Importance (under the Ramsar Convention). Adjacent to the park is the Cathkin Estates Conservation and Wildlife Sanctuary, which spans 1044ha of virgin grassland and represents the largest privately owned game park in the KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg region.