Hanglip is a part of the central Soutpansberg

Soutpansberg

The Soutpansberg meaning "Salt Pan Mountain" in Afrikaans, is a range of mountains in the far north of South Africa. It is named for the salt pan located at its western end. The mountain reaches the opposite extremity at in the Matikwa Nature Reserve, some due east...

 mountain range

Mountain range

A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...

 near Louis Trichardt, Limpopo Province

Limpopo

Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. The capital is Polokwane, formerly named Pietersburg. The province was formed from the northern region of Transvaal Province in 1994, and initially named Northern Transvaal...

, South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. The peak with radar station, at 1,719 meters above sea level, forms a prominent landmark visible from the town and the N1

N1 (South Africa)

The N1 is a South African National Route, running from Cape Town to Beit Bridge on the border with Zimbabwe. It is also the main road link between Johannesburg and Cape Town, and forms the first section of the famed Cape to Cairo Road....

 national road.

Hanglip mountain is situated in the 354 hectare Hanglip Reserve within the Hanglip State Forest. The state forest contains commercial pine plantations, protected natural forest and bushveld

Bushveld

The Bushveld is a sub-tropical woodland ecoregion of Southern Africa that encompasses most of Limpopo Province and a small part of the North West Province of South Africa, the Central and North-East Districts of Botswana and the Matabeleland South and part of th Matabeleland North provinces of...

. The pine plantations are harvested in 30 to 40 year cycles for construction wood.

Geologically the mountain consists of tilted layers of the Karoo

Karoo Supergroup

The Karoo Supergroup is the largest stratigraphic unit in Southern Africa, covering almost two thirds of the present land surface, including central Cape Province, almost all of Orange Free State, western Natal, much of south-east Transvaal, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi...

 succession including glacial

Karoo Ice Age

The Karoo Ice Age from 360–260 Ma was the second major ice age of the Phanerozoic Eon. It is named after the glacial tills found in the Karoo region of South Africa where evidence for this ice age was first clearly identified....

 till

Till

thumb|right|Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material , and this characteristic, known as matrix support, is diagnostic of till....

 deposits. Red quartzite deposits and grey andesite

Andesite

Andesite is an extrusive igneous, volcanic rock, of intermediate composition, with aphanitic to porphyritic texture. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between basalt and dacite. The mineral assemblage is typically dominated by plagioclase plus pyroxene and/or hornblende. Magnetite,...

 lava intrusions are also present.

From 1867 the area was controlled by the Venda

Venda

Venda was a bantustan in northern South Africa, now part of Limpopo province. It was founded as a homeland for the Venda people, speakers of the Venda language. It bordered modern Zimbabwe and South Africa, and is now part of Limpopo in South Africa....

 after they acquired rifles from elephant hunters. In 1898 the Venda under Mphefu were evicted from Schoemansdal by the Boer

Boer

Boer is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for farmer, which came to denote the descendants of the Dutch-speaking settlers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 18th century, as well as those who left the Cape Colony during the 19th century to settle in the Orange Free State,...

e under the leadership of General Piet Joubert. As safeguard against further attacks, Fort Botha was established under Hanglip some kilometers southwest of Mphefu's kraal

Kraal

Kraal is an Afrikaans and Dutch word for an enclosure for cattle or other livestock, located within an African settlement or village surrounded by a palisade, mud wall, or other fencing, roughly circular in form.In the Dutch language a kraal is a term derived from the Portuguese word , cognate...

. The ruins of the fort are currently off limits, being situated near graves of Venda captains held sacred by the tribe. The town of Louis Trichardt was established after the conflict.

Hikers can arrange to overnight in the Hanglip trail hut east of the peak, and motorists can visit a picnic site against its southern slope.

Hanglip mountain is also home to the tee of the Extreme 19th

Extreme 19th

The Extreme 19th is the highest and longest par three golf hole in the world, located at the Legend Golf & Safari Resort in the Entabeni Safari Conservatory, Limpopo Province, South Africa. The hole was conceived by Graham Cooke of the UK, and designed by David Riddle.The tee, located at the top...

, the highest and longest par three golf hole in the world.