About Black Mountain

About Black Mountain & Maria Moroka

The Thaba Nchu mountain, which is the spiritual homeland of the Basotho people who have lived there for centuries, first under Chief Moroka in 1830 & later under the more famous Chief Moshoeshoe.

Black Mountain & Maria Moroka National Park is only about 65km from Bloemfontein & 60km from Bram Fischer International Airport.

The dam on the foot of Black Mountain is called the Moutloatsi Setlogelo Dam (Groothoek Dam), which is popular with anglers, sun-downers on the boat and or water sport lovers.

You can go for a hike in the Maria Moroka Game Reserve or for a game drive and see herds of eland, black wildebeest, red hartebeest, springbok, blesbok and zebra. You will even be able to view some spectacular sightings of birds like sometimes even hundreds of blue cranes & or the cheerful garden birds chirping at dawn.

Maria Moroka is known by many visitors here as the ‘Big Sky’ Country because the air here is clear, the horizons are wide and the majestic Black Mountain makes it all come together.

The large Black Mountain Hotel within the game reserve used to be a Sun International casino.

The hotel has one of the most beautiful swimming pool & kiddie pool overlooking Maria Moroka National Park & the majestic Black Mountain or the “Black Beast” the nickname for the mountain given by the trail runners & hikers to summit this mountain.

There is also a putt-putt course, jacuzzi, sauna, big in-door heated pool, Spa for treatments, restaurants, bars, pool bars, movie theatre and a few other glitzy attractions – completely different to the standard little self-catering chalets you find at a provincial park like this, making the Black Mountain Challenge event very unique.