Northern Highlights Tour

This half-day sight-seeing tour is operated by Swazi Trails. In a wide arc to the north of Mbabane, this 4 hour outing covers scenic, art and craft, historical, geological and cultural highlights.

Your local guide will assist to make the jorney come alives, with numerous stories and anecdotes en route and between the numerous stops at diverse points of interest.

The tour focuses on the areas to the north of the Ezulwini Valley, encompassing Mbabane, Ngwenya, Nkhaba, Maguga and the Komati and Mbuluzi River valleys.  The scenic viewpoints on this tour and the opportinuity to see a wide range of Swazi landscapes are its main features.

This highlights tour runs in the morning or afternoon on a daily basis. For more info read the full itinerary below. To get a quick glimpse of what to expect, see our photo gallery.

If you prefer a tour that heads south of Ezulwini, try the Southern Highlights tour or if you are lokking to link and the Northern and Southern Highlights Tour into a comprehensive full day outing including lunch, have a look at the Swaziland Highlights tour .

This tour departing from the Ezulwini - the Valley of Heaven. Ascending to Mbabane, Swaziland's capital city, a short background to the capital's history is provided before the tour continues north to Malolotja Nature Reserve. Here the old Ngwenya Iron Ore Mine is a major feature.  There is a small museum to view and an optional 30 minute guided walk to the Lion Cavern. This relatively modest hollowing is undisputedly the oldest human excavation in the world (circa. 43000BC) and although now dwarfed by the iron ore excavation, remains a fascinating insight into stone age history.

Then its time for discovering the "glass-age" at Swaziland's number one artwork attraction - Ngwenya Glass. This showroom and factory combined into one allows visitors to watch as local craftsman create works of art, such as animal sculptures and exquisite tableware.

Continuing north the tour heads towards the scenic Komati River Valley. A stop is made at the Dragon's Teeth, an accessible example of the original sedimentary crust of the earth, ancient rocks which themselves have given clues to the earliest forms of life on earth.

Numerous art and craft stalls dot the road, including a stop at the now famous ‘leaf-dancing kids' at the Komati River Bridge.

Before crossing the 110 metre high Maguga Dam wall, the tour halts at a stunning site to take in the scenic beauty of this area. The return route to Ezulwini goes off the beaten track via district roads back to Pine Valley. There are superb viewing and photographic opportunities of rural Swazi community areas en route.  As a final highlight, the tour passes the massive Sibebe Rock monolith - Swaziland's most famous geological feature.