Underberg is an administrative town in a

dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

and

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

farming community in the

Mzimkulu River The Mzimkulu River is a river in South Africa. In the past, the Mzimkulu formed part of the border between Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. Presently this river is part of the Mvoti to Umzimkulu Water Management Area. In late February ...

valley of

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. It is situated at the foot of the 1,904 m Hlogoma Peak ''(place of echoes)'' in the foothills of the southern

Drakensberg The Drakensberg (Afrikaans: Drakensberge, Zulu: uKhahlambha, Sotho: Maluti) is the eastern portion of the Great Escarpment, which encloses the central Southern African plateau. The Great Escarpment reaches its greatest elevation – within th ...

, KwaZulu-Natal. Underberg was established in 1917 when the

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

from

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...

reached the area. It is an important commercial centre for the region's farming industry providing many of the support services. It is also a trading center for people who come down the nearby

Sani Pass Sani Pass is a mountain pass located in the West of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa on the road between Underberg, KwaZulu-Natal and Mokhotlong, Lesotho. The pass traverses the Great Escarpment of southern Africa in its highest region, the Drak ...

from

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

. The town also houses provincial offices of the ministries of

Social Welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...

and Transport, a

clinic A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care needs ...

; as well as the municipal

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

. The Underberg School offers pre-primary and primary education. Churches in town include the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Congregational Church Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

, The Underberg Baptist Church and Highlands Church International. Tourism is the second biggest industry in the area, next to farming. The area surrounding Underberg provides a large variety of tourism offerings, as a gateway to the Southern Drakensberg. The Southern Drakensberg Community Tourism Organisation was established by the community in 2007 and serves to promote tourism under the ''Southern Berg Escape'' brand. Underberg offers a variety of accommodation and eatery options, mostly of casual nature to suit most tastes. The Underberg district is, along with

Dullstroom Dullstroom, also known as Emnothweni, is a small town in Mpumalanga province, South Africa. The town lies north of Belfast and some south-west of Lydenburg on the R540 road. Dullstroom lies on the Highveld platea that is found in South Africa, ...

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...

one of South Africa's premier

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

fly fishing Fly fishing is an angling method that uses a light-weight lure—called an artificial fly—to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. The light weight requires casting techniques significantly diffe ...

destinations.

Splashy Fen Established in 1990, Splashy Fen is South Africa's longest-running music festival, which every Easter attracts thousands of people to a farm near Underberg, KwaZulu-Natal for a unique outdoor music experience. Also present are arts and crafts s ...

, an annual outdoor music festival, is held on a farm near Underberg. The internationally acclaimed Sani2C Mountain Bike race held annually starts in Underberg, while the grueling Joberg2C MTB Race passes through along the same route on Day 6 thereof. Paddlers from far and wide gather annually for the Drak Challenge canoe race held on the Mzimkulu river. File:ZA-KZ-underberg.jpg, Shopping center in Underberg File:Splashy Fen 2009 Aerial.jpg, The

music festival, held yearly on a farm outside Underberg

References

* Brandon-Kirby, Robert - Fly-Fishing in Southern Africa * Nagy, D. De F. (ed) - The First 100 Years of the Underberg-Himeville District 1887-1987

External links

Southern Berg Escape

Splashy Fen

Sani2C MTB Race

Joberg2C MTB Race

Drak Challenge Canoe Race

Underberg School
{{DEFAULTSORT:Underberg, Kwazulu-Natal Populated places in the Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma Local Municipality