Image: Baviaans Canyon Trail
The minds behind South Africa’s legendary Leopard Trail have launched a new slackpacking hike in the Baviaanskloof Wilderness Reserve.
The Baviaans Canyon Trail is set to open in March 2026, offering hikers a five-day, six-night circular route through one of the country’s most ecologically diverse landscapes.
“Over the last two years, we’ve been exploring the Baviaans and it still has some secrets to reveal. There’s still some magic to be delivered,” says Linden Booth, co-founder of the legendary Leopard Trail and now the Baviaans Canyon Trail.
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A new hike in SA like no other
The Baviaanskloof is South Africa’s third largest protected area — behind only Kruger and the Kgalagadi — and boasts seven of the country’s eight biomes.
“The Baviaans itself is magnificent, it’s the third biggest reserve in the country, after Kruger and Kgalagadi. It has the most number of biomes – South Africa has eight biomes – and seven of those are represented here in the Baviaans, so the diversity is incredible,” Booth explains.
The new trail has been crafted to highlight this biodiversity. One of its most exciting features is Paradise Kloof, a remote network of narrow slot canyons unlike anything most South African hikers have seen.
“We’ve focused on how to get people into the magnificent slot canyons of the Baviaans. [They] are just unbelievable – four-meter wide, one-hundred-metre high cliffs on each side, that open up into hidden secret ravines with green tree forests, on a crystal clear mountain…it’s just absolutely spectacular.”
Hikers will ascend to high ridgelines and plateaus, with panoramic views across this untouched wilderness.
Glamping and slackpacking services
The Baviaans Canyon Trail takes the slackpacking to new levels of luxury and comfort.
The six-night, five-day experience includes accommodation for the night before and after the trail, as well as four nights in specially designed glamping tents along the route.
“For this trail, we’ve pushed the level of luxury,” says Booth. “All of the elements that have made the Leopard Trail so popular – hot outdoor shower, flush toilets, indoor fireplaces for cold winter nights, crystal clear swimming pools and the slackpacking service all come standard, and we’ve upped the level of the glamping camps to make it even more special.”
The glamping accommodations feature glass structures with solid wooden floors and wood paneling, triple-layered tenting for insulation, hot outdoor showers, flush toilets, indoor fireplaces, and crystal-clear swimming pools.
The slackpacking service means hikers only need to carry day packs while their main luggage is transported between camps, along the circular route.
“The route starts at a different base camp than the famous Leopard Trail,” says Booth. “We start and end at the Baviaans Interpretative Centre – a great building to explore and how the Baviaanskloof was made and formed.”
Trail details and booking info
Bookings for the new Baviaans Canyon Trail open 19 May 2025 and are expected to sell out fast. The first official hike will commence in March 2026. Booth notes a possible early opening in December 2025, pending trail readiness.
For R5900 per person, the trail will include 5 days hiking – 4 nights on the trail in glamping tents, as well as 1 night of accommodation before and 1 night after the hike.
A protected and exclusive experience
The Baviaans Canyon Trail is operated under a long-term concession by Go Baviaans in partnership with the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency, traversing sections of the reserve not previously open to the public.
“We are in partnership with Eastern Cape Parks Board. This area that we’re exploring has not been open to the public. This is exclusive and we have partnered with them to bring this to you.”
With no cellphone reception, limited access points, and a strict environmental code of conduct, the trail promises a rare wilderness immersion — one that balances comfort with conservation, and seclusion with spectacular scenery.
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