Mankele is an mountain bike and adventure park situated outside Nelspruit (Mbombela) in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. It is a favourite among mountain bikers and outdoor enthusiasts with its breathtaking scenery of indigenous forests, grasslands, mountains, ravines and rivers. Mankele was established in 2007 with the aim to create a safe outdoor environment with various activities and accommodation options available for everyone to enjoy their time in the outdoors.
The main attraction at Mankele is mountain biking and caters for riders of all levels from beginners to professionals, hosting many mountain biking events throughout the year. To ensure you don’t miss the fantastic mountain biking trails this venue has to offer, there is a shop on the property where visitors can hire good quality bikes and helmets. There are additional activities to enjoy such as river tubing, paint-balling, fishing and fantastic facilities for day visitors and for those who wish to spend few days longer exploring the area. Additional activities in the surrounding areas including the Sudwala Caves, numerous waterfalls and hiking trails. GZ Adventures Mankele has a variety of accommodation options available for visitors including camping, safari tents and log cabins.
They have various world class mountain bike routes and trails available which are marked with easy to follow colour coded way points along the routes. Big drops, river crossings, climbs and single track trails to mention some of the choices and obstacles you will come across.
Pink Route
Test your skills on this single track running along the river with boardwalks, river crossings and a technical climb. This route is 4.5km and an ascent of 120m. This route should take approximately 30-45min.
Blue Route
This easy route was designed for beginners to test and practise their skills without much effort and strain. This 4.5km is a fast and slowing trail which includes single tracks, jeep tracks and bridge crossings. This route takes about 30min.
Orange Route
This is one of the more technical routes at Mankele which is also used for the Cross Country Nationals. This 8km takes you across boardwalks, bush tunnels and bridge crossings. Once you have relentless sting you have some tricky descents of 160m. Depending on your level of experience this route can take up to an hour.
Yellow Route
This is an easy route and short ride along tar road and some gravel road before you reach the downhill bush-tunnel single track running along the river. This 4.4km is for beginners or those wanting to warm up and should not take longer than 30min.
Green Route
This route is for all mountain bikers but a certain level of fitness is required due to the length of the trail and some steep climbs along the route. This trail is approximately 20km consisting of single tracks, bridge crossings, bush tunnels and boardwalks, with an ascent of 480. Depending on experience and fitness level this route can take between 2 – 3 hours.
Silver Route
This is one of the longer routes where the trail runs through the forest, finishing off with the single track Sappi bush tunnel and Juniors bush tunnel. This trail is 28km and depending on experience and fitness level should be able to be done in 5 hours.
Red Route
This route is an extension of the green route with a little bit of everything including single tracks, bush tunnels, boardwalks and some climbs. You will have a choice of a technical bush tunnel option or a fun twisty single track, you will find the escape point at the green route turn off. This route is 30km and with an ascent of 728 should take you approximately 5 hours.
Purple Route
This route is one of the most difficult routes at Mankele and mostly for mountain bikers with a high level of fitness. This 15km route has an ascent of 1200m and two escape routes have been marked out along the route, the single track and breathtaking views is well worth the climb. We recommend you take lots of water and food as a route can take anything between 5 – 8 hours depending on your level of fitness.
- Adventure Type:
Mountain Biking - Country:
South Africa - Province:
Mpumalanga - City/Town:
Mbombela (Nelspruit) - Rating:
5 - Route Type:
Bike Park