Giant's Castle
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Giant's Castle is a mountain located within the Drakensberg range in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It includes a grassy plateau nestled among the deep valleys of the southern end of the central Drakensberg. Together, the shape of the peaks and escarpment are thought to resemble a sleeping giant's profile; hence, its name.
Giant's Castle is best known for its nature reserve and the bushman rock art preserved at its main caves, and the game reserve is home of the eland as well as the bearded vulture and Cape vulture. The area is considered one of South Africa's many adventure areas, and attracts hikers, nature enthusiasts, and other tourists. It also hosts the Giant's Challenge marathon in April each year. The Treverton Grade 10s take a 15 day hike to summit this peak in their 3rd term. Template:Citation needed
Hiking Trails
There are in excess of 25 walks in the Giant's Castle Game Reserve. The Template:Convert network of trails here includes Template:Convert to Template:Convert hikes, spanning from 1 hour to overnight.
There are currently 14 recognized escarpment passes in the region (listed north to south):
- Corner Pass<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Around the Corner Pass (variation route on Corner Pass with alternative summit)
- Judge Pass<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref>
- Gypaetus Pass (opened in September 2012)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Bannerman Pass <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Thumb Pass (opened in 1997)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- North Hlubi Pass<ref name=hlubi>Template:Cite web</ref>
- South Hlubi Pass<ref name=hlubi/>
- Langalibalele Pass<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Bond Pass (opened in 2014)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- North Jarding/Jarateng Pass<ref name=jarateng>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Central Jarding/Jarateng Pass<ref name=jarateng/>
- South Jarding/Jarateng Pass<ref name=jarateng/>
- Giant's Castle Pass<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>