KwaZulu-Natal

Best Time for Drakensberg (uKhahlamba)

SA's highest peaks — world-class hiking, trout rivers, and UNESCO San rock art

Monthly scores for 5 activities — derived from multi-year wind, rainfall, sea temperature, and wave averages. No opinion: every score is calculated from the data.

Hiking — Month by Month

Scored on: Dry trails, mild–warm temp, low wind

Best months: Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep

Scale:ExcellentGoodFairPoorAvoid· key data point shown per cell

Jan

3/5

Fair

19.2d rain

Feb

3/5

Fair

18.4d rain

Mar

3/5

Fair

14.4d rain

Apr

4/5

Good

10.2d rain

May

5/5

Excellent

4.2d rain

Jun

5/5

Excellent

1.4d rain

Jul

5/5

Excellent

1.2d rain

Hols

Aug

5/5

Excellent

3.4d rain

Sep

5/5

Excellent

6.8d rain

Oct

3/5

Fair

13.6d rain

Nov

3/5

Fair

13.4d rain

Dec

3/5

Fair

18.8d rain

Hols

Where to go

Cathedral Peak trails (day & overnight)
Amphitheatre & Tugela Falls (Royal Natal NP)
Giant's Castle (lammergeier hide, dinosaur prints)
Monk's Cowl (Champagne Valley)
Injasuti Valley overnight hike

Best Months per Activity

Months scoring 4/5 or higher. Click a row to explore that activity.

Hiking

Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep

Mountain Biking

May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep

Trail Running

Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct

Camping

May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep

Fishing

Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec

Monthly Weather Averages

5-year averages 2020–2024 (ERA5 reanalysis)

Month	High/Low (°C)	Rain days	Wind (km/h)	School
January	26.5/15.9	19.2	14.8	Term
February	26.1/16	18.4	13.9	Term
March	25.5/14.4	14.4	14.4	Term
April	22.4/10.8	10.2	13.8	Term
May	20.6/6.8	4.2	13	Term
June	18.1/3.3	1.4	14.3	Term
July	18.8/2.3	1.2	15.9	Winter break
August	21.5/5	3.4	19	Term
September	24.9/9.1	6.8	19.7	Term
October	25.2/11.6	13.6	18.5	Term
November	26.9/13.7	13.4	20	Term
December	27.3/15.8	18.8	19.4	Summer break

How Scores Are Calculated

Each month receives a score of 1–5 per activity using fixed thresholds on the raw data. No editorial judgement — every score is derived directly from ERA5, NOAA ERSSTv5, and CMEMS figures.

Hiking:Dry trails, mild–warm temp, low wind

Mountain Biking:Dry trails, manageable temp, low wind

Trail Running:Cool–warm temp (heat risk ↑), low rain

Camping:Dry nights, mild temperatures (frost/heat penalty)

Fishing:Calm seas, manageable wind, cooler water

Data Sources & Attribution

Wind speed, rainfall & air temperature

ERA5 reanalysis (ECMWF) via Open-Meteo Archive API. Daily-max 10 m wind speed, total daily precipitation, and 2 m temperature, 2020–2024, averaged to monthly means. License: CC-BY 4.0.

open-meteo.com

Data last fetched: 2026-05-02

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