Pongola (also known in Zulu as oPhongolo) is a town on the north bank of the uPhongolo River, in a fertile valley on the N2, near the Lubombo Mountains, in the valleys of Zululand, easily accessible to the Swaziland border posts. It was part of the Transvaal panhandle between the Phongolo (Natal) and Swaziland (now Eswatini) until 1994, when it was transferred to KwaZulu-Natal.

The town takes its name from the uPhongolo River, which in turn derives its name from the isiZulu word for a barrel, vat, trough, or cask.

It is a unique and tranquil subtropical environment. It has more than 50 km² of sugarcane and subtropical fruit plantations surrounding it. During the Depression years of the 1930s, drastic irrigation systems were started in Pongola for sugar cane farms. The town thrived as a result of the canal system and a sugar mill that was built. Today it is part of the uPhongolo Local Municipality.

Pongolapoort Dam and Pongola Game Reserve is to the east. It is the only dam in South Africa where African tigerfish (family Alestidæ) can be caught.

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