The Valley of a Thousand Hills is a valley between

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 ...

and

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

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 ...

. The

Umgeni River The Umgeni River or Mgeni River ( zu, uMngeni) is a river in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It rises in the "Dargle" in the KZN Midlands, and its mouth is at Durban, some distance north of Durban's natural harbour. The name is taken to mean "the r ...

meets the

Msunduzi River The Msunduzi River is a river in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is also known by its anglicised name, the ''Dusi River''. The original name, ''Msunduzi'', is isiZulu. The Msunduzi is a tributary of the Mngeni River. In Pietermaritzburg The Msu ...

( Duzi River) in the valley, and the

Dusi Canoe Marathon The Dusi Canoe Marathon is a marathon canoe race held over three days between Pietermaritzburg and Durban, South Africa. It is run along the Msunduzi and Mgeni Rivers over a total distance of . The race attracts between 1600 and 2000 paddlers ...

is run through the area every year.

Geography

The Valley of a Thousand Hills stretches from Cato Ridge in the west to Kloof in the east and coincides with borders of the Outer West Region of the

Ethekwini Metropolitan Municipality eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality is a metropolitan municipality created in 2000, that includes the city of Durban, South Africa and surrounding towns. eThekwini is one of the 11 districts of KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The majo ...

. The valley includes areas such as

Cato Ridge Cato Ridge is a town in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. Organisationally and administratively it is included in the Ethekwini Metropolitan Municipality as a suburb of the Outer West region. It is situated some 30 km south-east of ...

Inchanga Inchanga is a village in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, approximately halfway between Durban and Pietermaritzburg. Schools Inchanga has several schools, including Rietvallei Combined School, Siphesihle High School, Inchanga Primary School In ...

Hammarsdale Mpumalanga, also widely known as Hammarsdale, is a town in eThekwini in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. It is a township about 10 km south-south-east of Cato Ridge and some 50 km west of Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThek ...

, Drummond, Peacevale,

Botha's Hill Botha's Hill (locally , ) is a small town outside Hillcrest in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It remains a peaceful beautiful hill where regular country style food and craft markets are held. It is the gateway to the Valley of a Thousand Hills. Ke ...

Assagay Assagay, also spelt Assegay, is a suburb of eThekwini in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and forms a part of the Upper Highway Area. History Assagay was formerly a small local authority on the outskirts of Durban adjacent to its sister village of ...

, Hillcrest, Winston Park, Waterfall, Ngcolosi, Crestholme,

Gillitts Gillitts is a town in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa. Overview It is about inland from the Durban city centre at an elevation of 1800 feet (600 m ASL). Although Durban is semi-tropical and very humid, Gillitts is above the humidity a ...

, Everton and

Kloof Kloof is a leafy upper-class town, that includes a smaller area called Everton, located approximately 26 km north-west of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Once an independent municipality, it now forms part of greater Durban area ...

. Wealthier areas can be found on the higher ground, while the lower section of the valley is dominated by widely spread, low-income households.

Places of interest

* The Inchanga Railway Museum, which is located in the old Station Master’s House, celebrates KwaZulu-Natal’s rail heritage * The Shongweni Farmers and Craft Market is a popular weekly market open on Saturday mornings * PheZulu Safari Park offers a variety of activities, including visiting the reptile park, watching traditional Zulu dance, going on a safari drive, and visiting the Cultural Village * The Animal Farmyard offers great activities for children, including feeding and petting the animals, pony and horse rides and going on the zip line

References

External links

The 1000 Hill Community Tourism Organization (CTO) website
Landforms of KwaZulu-Natal Valleys of South Africa {{KwaZuluNatal-geo-stub