TOURISM GOLD
● The old gold-mining town of Pilgrim’s Rest in Mpumalanga is situated on the spectacular Panorama Route, and is close to such treasures as Blyde River Canyon, Bourke’s Luck Potholes and God’s Window. The entire village was declared a national monument in 1986, a living memory to the early gold rush days of the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Its Royal Hotel, built in 1894, beautifully reflects the elegance typical of its late-Victorian heyday, with 10 late 19th-century buildings converted into 50 richly decorated bedrooms, with antique brass beds, washstands, and ball & claw baths.
One of its most fascinating features,
The Church Bar, was originally a school chapel brought to Pilgrim’s Rest by ox wagon. From R630 per person per night (B&B, sharing). See pilgrimsrest.co.za/stay/royalhotel