State of the Vaalhoek Road on the Panorama Route in winter 2025

The Vaalhoek road between Pilgrim’s Rest and The Bourke’s Luck Potholes is one of the most scenic roads on the Panorama Route and Mpumalanga. This “dust”, non-tarred, road links Pilgrim’s Rest to Bourke’s Luck Potholes. The state of the road changes due to weather, season and grading efforts. In winter  (August) 2025, the road is in moderate condition. 

Most of the road is in reasonable condition but corrugated as shown below.

A few areas have large dips and potholes, but can be easily navigated. 

Worst sections of the Vaalhoek Road

Below are some of the worst sections of the Vaalhoek Road.

Should you drive the Vaalhoek Road in 2025?

If you are adventurous and a have some time to spare, driving the Vaalhoek Road will show you some of the most beautiful and untouched landscapes on the Panorama Route. As you can probably tell, we love this road.

We recommend having at least an SUV to make the trip comfortable, but any car will be able to navigate the road in winter, though comfort of the ride might be questionable.

There is still very little traffic on this road, making driving and exploring a pleasure. Unfortunately some zama zama activity can be seen, mostly close to Pilgrim’s rest, but they keep to themselves.