Tugela Falls

The water falls 948 meters. That is a very long way down!

Some people say it is the tallest waterfall in the world. Others say it is the second tallest.

The five cascades of Tugela Falls add up to a drop of 948 meters. South African Tourism says it is the highest waterfall in Africa and second only to Angel Falls in Venezuela.

Not everyone agrees on the ranking. South African History Online reports that, after years of disagreement, the World Waterfall Database concluded that Tugela Falls is the highest waterfall in the world when its overall height is measured.

Ranking waterfalls depends on how height is measured. South African Tourism: highest in Africa, second only to Angel Falls. South African History Online: after years of controversy, the World Waterfall Database concluded that Tugela Falls is the world's highest by overall height, its five cascades counted together giving 948 m.

Both sources agree on the 948 m total; they differ only on how it compares with Angel Falls.

The Tugela River starts as a small stream high on a flat mountain top.

It falls over the cliffs and then flows all the way to the sea.

South African History Online says the Tugela River rises as a stream on the Mont-aux-Sources plateau, 3,050 meters high. Its upper course flows through the Drakensberg before it hurtles down the falls.

Below the falls the river cuts through the Tugela Gorge and is joined by many smaller rivers. UNESCO says the Thukela River flows east into the Indian Ocean, while rivers on the other side of the mountains drain west toward the Atlantic.

South African History Online: the Tugela rises on the 3,050 m Mont-aux-Sources plateau, its upper course in Royal Natal National Park; after the falls it cuts through the Tugela Gorge at the foot of the escarpment, gains many tributaries, passes the Ladysmith Basin and later cuts through a block of sandstone to reach the coastal plain.

UNESCO: the escarpment forms a drainage divide for two of southern Africa's largest basins; the Thukela flows east to the Indian Ocean, while the Senqu/Orange flows west to the Atlantic. The range is the principal water production area in southern Africa.

Big birds called vultures fly over these mountains.

Many plants here grow nowhere else.

South African Tourism says the falls lie in the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg World Heritage Site. UNESCO says this protected area shelters more than 250 plant species found only in this region, along with endangered birds such as the Cape vulture and the bearded vulture.

UNESCO also names the yellow-breasted pipit, a threatened bird, and high-altitude wetlands above 2,750 meters.

UNESCO (Maloti-Drakensberg Park, 2000; 249,313 ha in all): soaring basaltic buttresses and golden sandstone ramparts; more than 250 endemic plant species; almost all the remaining subalpine and alpine vegetation of KwaZulu-Natal, with high-altitude wetlands above 2,750 m; a Global Centre of Plant Diversity in its own floristic region, the Drakensberg Alpine Region; endangered Cape vulture (Gyps coprotheres) and bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus); the threatened yellow-breasted pipit.

South African Tourism places the falls inside this World Heritage Site.

The walk to the falls is long and uphill.

Wear a hat and sunscreen, and stay with a grown-up.

South African Tourism describes two ways to see the falls: a hike from the Sentinel car park to the summit at Mont-aux-Sources, which takes around five hours and is not suitable for small children, and a path up the Tugela valley to the gorge, which ends with a chain ladder.

The sun's UV rays can reach you even on cloudy, cool days, the CDC says. Wear a hat with a brim all the way around, sunglasses and sunscreen of SPF 15 or higher.

South African Tourism: the Sentinel car park to Mont-aux-Sources hike takes around 5 hours and is not suitable for the unfit or for small children; the Tugela Gorge route follows a contour path up the valley and ends with a chain ladder; the ideal time to visit is March to May, when the weather is not too hot.

CDC sun safety: UV reaches you on cloudy and cool days; use shade, protective clothing, a wide-brimmed hat, UVA/UVB sunglasses and broad-spectrum sunscreen of SPF 15 or higher.