The Lowveld region is home to the seat of the provincial administration in Mbombela, the famous Sudwala Caves and a botanical garden with an enormous collection of cycads as well as an African rainforest. The Kruger National Park is the largest game reserve in South Africa covering 18,989 square km and extending 350 km from south to north and 60 km from west to east. The park has 8 main gates that allow entrance to the different camps. The names of these gates are Punda Maria, Paul Kruger, Numbi, Malelane, Crocodile Bridge, Orpen, Phabeni, Pafuri and Phalaborwa.
The Lowveld covers the area of South Africa's Mpumalanga province between the Swaziland border and the Kruger National Park and is primarily an agricultural area and a large portion of South Africa's vegetables and tropical fruit are grown here. In the hills of the Lowveld you will find ancient rock engravings and paintings of the early Bushmen people who inhabited the many caves of the area. Visitors can also see archeological ruins, old wagon trails and gold diggings. Mbombela, the capital of Mpumalanga, is situated in the Lowveld region, and the famous Sudwala Caves is just to the west of Mbombela.
Badplaas is a resort town situated in the extreme south west. Badplaas is well known for its hot sulphur mineral pools and baths. Just to the south of Mbombela you will find de Kaap Valley where some of the world's oldest sedimentary rock formations have been discovered.
To the north is South Africa's premier game park, the Kruger National Park. Established in 1898 to protect the wildlife of the South African Lowveld, this national park of nearly 2 million hectares is unrivalled in the diversity of its life forms and a world leader in advanced environmental management policies and techniques.
The Kruger National Park is home to an impressive number of species including 336 trees, 49 fish, 34 amphibians, 114 reptiles, 507 birds and 147 mammals. Man's interaction with the environment over many centuries, from bushman rock paintings to majestic archaeological sites like Thulamela and Masorini is very evident in the Kruger National Park. These treasures represent the cultures, persons and events that played a role in the history of the Kruger National Park and are conserved along with the park's natural assets.
Information on towns in the Lowveld
Badplaas, Hazyview, Komatipoort, Malelane, Mbombela, Nelspruit, Sabie Sands, Skukuza, White River,
