Golden Gate Highlands National Park lies nestled in the rolling foothills of the Maluti Mountains of the north-eastern Free State, bordering Lesotho.
This is true highlands habitat, home to a variety of mammals - black wildebeest, eland, blesbok, oribi, springbok and Burchell's zebra - and birds, including the rare bearded vulture (lammergeier) and the equally rare bald ibis, which breed in the ledges of the sandstone cliff.
Golden Gate Highlands National Park derives its name from the brilliant shades of gold cast by the sun on the park's sandstone cliffs, especially the imposing Brandwag rock.