There are 25 summits above 3300m in South Africa, several of which are unnamed, and many of which are hardly known. They belong to a greater group of peaks known as the Khulus - the 3000m peaks, found in the Drakensberg.

The following list of peaks is by no means authorative and does include some peaks where their inclusion as a Khulu is debateable – time will tell. We hope that this will eventually lead to an accepted list of the top 20 (or 25) peaks of South Africa. Please participate in our Drakensberg forum which is a vital tool in establishing this.

Those that are marked with an asteriks (*) are peaks that currently are not named on the maps. The names we have assigned them are generally derived from nearby rivers or from nearby Khulus with exsiting names, and are merely for reference until an official name can be assigned. All altitudes are taken from the government survey maps except those marked with a hash sign (#) where no official height is available and have been measured by GPS.

 
 Rank Peak   Altitude Area Region
 1 Mafadi 3451m Injasuti Central Berg
 2

Injasuthi Dome

3410m Injasuti Central Berg
 3 Champagne Castle 3377m
Monk's Cowl Central Berg
 4 Lithobolong Peak *

3375m

Injasuti Central Berg
 5 kaNtuba Peak *
3366m # Vergelegen Southern Berg
 6 Trojan Wall
3354m Injasuti Central Berg
 7 kaNtuba Buttress *

3344m

Vergelegen Southern Berg
 8 Yodler's Peak I *
 3338m  Cathedral Peak  Northern Berg
 9 Yodler's Peak II *
3338m Cathedral Peak Northern Berg
 10 Pampiring 3337m Cathedral Peak Northern Berg
 11 Red Wall Peak *
3337m Injasuti Central Berg
 12 Botlolong *

3333m

Monk's Cowl Central Berg
 13 Popple Peak 3331m Injasuti Central Berg
 14  Ships Prow 3325m Monk's Cowl Central Berg
 15 Sehonghong *

3324m

Vergelegen   Southern Berg
 16 Nkosazana Peak *

 3318m

Monk's Cowl Central Berg
 17 Champagne Castle Ridge Peak *

3318m

Monk's Cowl Central Berg
 18 Giant's Castle

3316m

Giant's Castle Central Berg
 19 Mashai

3313m

Garden Castle Southern Berg
 20 Mohlesi 3310m Vergelegen Southern Berg
 21 Redi 3309m Lotheni Central Berg
 22 Walker's Peak 3306m Garden Castle  Southern Berg
 23 Mhlwazini Peak *
3305m # Monk's Cowl Central Berg
 24 Yodler's Ridge Peak *
3301m Cathedral Peak Northern Berg
 25 Sanqebethu *

 3301m

Giant's Castle Central Berg

A large proportion of these peaks are situated on two very prominent and impressive ridges, namely the Didima-Champagne Castle Watershed and the Injasuti Watershed. Thus most of the top peaks can be climbed by traversing these ridges, though it would take a bit of effort (especially for the former)!

Peaks where the actual summit appears to fall 50-100m short of the South African border (as indicated on the hiking maps) are Lithobolong Peak, Botlolong, Popple Peak, Mohlesi Peak, Walker's Peak and Sanqebethu. These have been included here on the assumption that the border does actually fall exactly on these peaks. These maps are also not authoritative on the exact location of the border. The convention here assumes that the watershed is the border.

Yodler's Peak could arguably be at two different locations some 950m apart, or these two points could in fact be two different Khulus. They both have an altitude of 3338m. There is a small dip between the two, marking the top of the long gulley climbing out of the top end of Yodler's Cascades, though it it is a relatively small change in relief. Which one is a Khulu or are they both different Khulus? Such is the challenge in the classification! Climb both to be sure we say!

Ships Prow and Botlolong are very close together, as are Champagne Castle Ridge Peak and Mhlwazini Peak. All four have been included at this stage as they all appear to be peaks in their own right.

GPS co-ordinates and other technical details on these peaks is available in Part 2 of this article. The GPS data is also available for download in the downloads section. 
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