"SENTINEL" Top 5 Page for this destination Drakensberg Things to Do Tip by mtncorg

The Sentinel stands at the right hand side of the Amphitheatre, dominating the views from approaches from that direction. At 3165 meters high, the Sentinel is the highest free-standing peak in the local vicinity - slightly over 100 meters higher than its bookend on the other end of the Amphitheatre, the Eastern Buttress. The main trail to the top of the Drakensberg Escarpment, circles around the upper base of the Sentinel, giving one up close views of the massif. The Sentinel, due to the ease of access, is very popular with climbers (‘popular’ is a relative term in South Africa. A ‘popular’ berg pass might see one party a week, for example) and all sorts of routes exist from the reasonable easy original route (graded ‘D’ by South Africans being the equivalent to upper 4th class to maybe 5.0 by US standards) to routes that quickly rise in difficulty level.