About Mpumalanga

Mpumalanga, whose name means 'place where the sun rises', stretches from the high, cold grasslands around Dullstroom and Belfast down the Drakensberg escarpment to the low-lying bushveld bordering Kruger National Park. The province's coal seams around eMalahleni and Secunda power much of South Africa's electricity and underpin Sasol's synthetic-fuel operations, while Barberton, where gold was struck in 1884, predates the Witwatersrand rush and still bears the mining-town architecture from that era. Along the escarpment, the Blyde River Canyon and God's Window draw visitors to some of the country's most dramatic scenery, and the former gold-rush village of Pilgrim's Rest survives largely intact as a heritage site. Forestry plantations around Sabie and Graskop supply a large share of the country's timber, and the lowveld towns of Mbombela (formerly Nelspruit) and Hazyview serve as the main gateways into Kruger's southern and central camps.

Beyond Mpumalanga's bigger centres, White River's Spring Music Conference: Emergence draws performers and producers to Phakama Mpumalanga for a three-day run, with the same venue later hosting the multi-day Phakama Mpumalanga Festival 2026 over Halloween weekend. Standerton keeps its festival streak going with the 1st Annual Standerton Maskandi Festival, while nearby Delmas answers with its own Delmas Maskandi festival a fortnight later. Hendrina rounds out November with the Hendrina Fest, and Bushbuckridge keeps spirits high with Bushbuckridge Comes Alive.