If you love seeing pretty scenery up close, South Africa should be at the top of your list for hiking trips. This amazing country has all kinds of beautiful landscapes perfect for exploring on foot. You’ll find huge mountains, crashing waterfalls, green wineries, and deserts that look out of this world. With so many awesome trails, put on your hiking boots and get ready for an unforgettable adventure in South Africa.
The Otter Trail
This 5-day, 42km coastal trek is a legend among serious hikers. Winding through the lush Garden Route National Park, the Otter Trail hugs the Indian Ocean, cutting through dense forest, boulder-filled beaches, and cliff-top paths that feel like movie scenes.
Nights are spent in remote cabins where there’s no reception, no shops — just firewood, nature, and the sound of waves. But here’s the thing: while the hike itself is beautifully unplugged, the logistics before and after it aren’t. Booking trail permits, paying for accommodation in advance, or grabbing supplies in towns like Knysna or Storms River often means dealing with local payment systems.
This is where Hizo becomes a quiet game-changer. If you’re traveling with Naira, Hizo helps you convert your Naira to Rand quickly and securely, so you can handle cross-border payments without stress — no currency confusion, no last-minute scramble. It’s a financial headlamp for the dark spots you didn’t know were coming.
Giant's Cup Hiking Trail
The dramatic, spine-tingling rock formations and striking, curving peaks of the Drakensberg mountain range are well-known. On the Giant’s Cup Hiking Trail, you’ll get to fully immerse yourself in this bewitching alpine wonderland on an epic day hike.
As you venture along the 6.5km trail through the Northern Drakensberg, the scenery will leave you wide-eyed and slack-jawed at every turn. Abruptly rising from the foothills are row after row of towering 5,000+ foot golden sandstone buttresses etched into their iconic curved shapes over millions of years by glaciers and rain.
All your senses will be awakened as you hike past sparkling streams, colorful wildflowers, and into a crisp, pine-scented forest. The grand finale? Your route climbs to a spectacular overnight hut perched high on the rim of the Giant’s Cup’s massive amphitheater, giving you a dizzying viewpoint over these geological showstoppers.
The Pipe Track
Fancy a more relaxed day out? The Pipe Track in the Cape Winelands blends hiking with the soft luxury of wine country. It’s a gentle 9km trail weaving through vineyards, oak-lined paths, and mountain views that almost force you to slow down and breathe.
Midway through, it’s common to take a break at a winery for a crisp Chenin Blanc or a tasting platter of biltong and local cheeses. And while the trail might feel light and carefree, many international visitors get caught off guard by the small expenses — wine tastings, boutique café stops, or even Uber rides back to town — all of which demand Rand, not Naira.
Instead of wasting time at currency kiosks or paying inflated card fees, hikers using Hizo can handle it all ahead of time. The app offers seamless naira exchange at competitive rates, helping you plan and pay while still in Nigeria. So you can show up with your boots on and your finances handled.
Cederberg Wilderness Area
If you’re more into rugged adventure, the haunting landscapes and ancient rock art of the Cederberg Wilderness Area will excite your wild side. These craggy mountains, about a 3-hour drive from Cape Town, were considered sacred by indigenous San people for ages.
A top route is the four-day Cederbaric Hiking Trail, a 32km circuit full of non-stop dramatic scenery as you go through narrow sandstone ravines, wildflower meadows, and valleys framed by soaring burnt-orange cliffs. You’ll scramble across fields of boulders, splash through crystal-clear mountain pools, and even discover hidden aboriginal rock art sites that few ever see.
For an epic finale, you’ll spend the night at an isolated mountain hut in the shadow of the revered Sneeukop peak. As the last fiery sunrays hit the jagged rock formations, you’ll feel a profound appreciation for the spiritual power and grandeur of this ancient, untamed realm.
Klipspringer Trail
Now for something completely different: the raw, wide-open scenery and glorious solitude of the Klipspringer Trail. Found inside the acclaimed Entabeni Game Reserve, this 19km, three-day route immerses you in the semi-desert environment of the Waterberg region where stark rock formations and sparse vegetation create an otherworldly backdrop.
You’ll trek through towering sandstone outcrops, across rocky dry riverbeds, and past rolling grassy hills dotted with twisted shepherd’s trees. This is vast, wild Africa at its most basic, where you’re bound to spot mongoose, rock-dwelling klipspringers (a small antelope), and tons of fascinating birds and plants, all undisturbed by the modern world.
Each night, you’ll bunk down at cozy, no-frills tented camps that have everything you need to properly relax. As bright stars blaze overhead so vividly you’ll feel like you can reach out and touch the Milky Way, you’ll discover a profound sense of remoteness and serenity rarely found on other hikes.
Conclusion
From coast to mountain, forest to desert, South Africa’s hiking trails offer an unmatched connection to the land. But the best adventures begin with smart planning. Whether it’s spending Naira in South Africa or just making cross-border payments stress-free, Hizo helps keep the focus on the journey, not the financial juggling.
So pack light. Hike far. And let Hizo take care of the money side of things — so you can chase sunsets, not receipts.
