South Africa · Gauteng · Pretoria
Wonderboom, Pretoria — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Wonderboom is the Pretoria district built around the Wonderboom Nature Reserve, a slice of the Magaliesberg holding Fort Wonderboompoort.
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Where to stay in Wonderboom
Where you base yourself shapes the visit — here's the character of each area.
PretoriaSouth Africathe district nearest the reserve entrance when Wonderboom has nothing to bookPretoria North
Pretoria North shares the city roll with Wonderboom and lies on the same northern side of the metropole as the Magaliesberg section the reserve protects.Pretoria North →Few places to stay in Wonderboom — most visitors book in Pretoria North nearby.
About Wonderboom
What are the main landmarks in Wonderboom?
Two names draw people here. The Wonderboom stands near the reserve entrance in Lavender street, while Fort Wonderboompoort sits derelict on the crest of the Magaliesberg, reached by a steep paved walkway from the picnic area. The fort ruins look out over the city below.
Beyond those two, the reserve's own ground is the attraction, a section of the Magaliesberg range with both banks of the Apies River inside the boundary.
What is the history of Wonderboom?
Fort Wonderboompoort was constructed towards the end of the nineteenth century, during the Second Boer War, and its ruins still hold the crest of the Magaliesberg above the reserve. A council decision followed later. On 28 December 1949 the city council declared the area around the Wonderboom and both banks of the Apies River a reserve.
That declaration is what fixed the Wonderboom Nature Reserve as a named unit of the Pretoria metropole.
Where is Wonderboom?
Wonderboom takes in a section of the Magaliesberg range in the northern portion of the Pretoria metropole, with both banks of the Apies River inside it.
Common questions
What is the best area to stay in Wonderboom?
Wonderboom: walkers heading for the Wonderboom and Fort Wonderboompoort on the Magaliesberg crest. Pretoria North: the district nearest the reserve entrance when Wonderboom has nothing to book.
More areas in Pretoria
Updated September 2026