Ntunjambili (Kranskop Peak)

The town of Kranskop ("cliff head" in Afrikaans) is named after the well-known cliff face which rises to 1175m, towering above the Tugela Valley. The first European to ever climb the peak was Captain A.M Montgomery of the royal fusiliers, during the Anglo-Zulu War.

This massive red sandstone peak, is known to the Zulus as Ntunjambili. There are a number of local legends which date back to the times of Zulu King Shaka, regarding Ntunjambili. One tale tells of how the rock split, allowing the local chief's son and his bride to hide inside from cannibals who were pursuing them. Other Zulu legends state that peak was the inhabited by cannibals who had the power to open the mountain, and entice unsuspecting passers by inside.

However, another common story claims that the tribe's maidens, who grew tired from transporting water up from the river to the kraal, used to murmur "iTshe lika Ntumjambili - let me come into your house". A giant cavern in the mountain would open and allow them to enter what seemed to be a wonderland. But it always turned into a prison from which there was no escape, and the sobbing of the maidens may be still be heard occasionally on a quiet day, lingering around the face of the precipice like a sigh.