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The iconic Kruger National Park in South Africa will soon have a stunning new attraction; a hotel built inside train carriages that sit atop a bridge.

Called Kruger Shalati: The Train on the Bridge, the hotel will be permanently stationed on the Selati Bridge above the Sabie River, and will offer unique luxury accommodation in a re-envisioned train. Travelers will be able to choose from 31 rooms, with 24 carriage rooms offering glass walls with infinite views along the length of the river and seven bridge house rooms that will be built adjacent to the bridge. There will also be an overhanging swimming pool floating above the river, and a walkway attached to the bridge which runs the full width of the river from bank to bank for a sunset walk.

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Kruger Shalati
The hotel will offer incredible views of the surrounding area © Kruger Shalati: The Train on the Bridge

The hotel is under construction now, but due to restrictions put in place by the government to slow the spread of COVID-19, operations on the building of the lodge have been slowed down for the past three months. However, the company says that it aims to have the hotel finished by December 2020. The first carriage has been built, and when complete, the hotel will be adjacent to the Skukuza Camp of Kruger National Park, where the “Big Five” (lions, buffalos, leopards, elephants and rhinos) can be spotted on safari. Wildlife and birds will even be visible from the rooms.

Africa Photographic, Francois van Zyl, Shalati Train, Mpumalanga, South Africa (117).jpg
The first carriage of the hotel has been completed © Francois van Zyl / Kruger Shalati: The Train on the Bridge
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“The inspiration came from the historical bridge. In the 1920s as the national park was declared, this was the only way you could visit as a guest – by train, which would park on this same bridge overnight as part of the rail journey – it was one of the most popular legs of the nine-day route that used to run on this line. We’ve taken the concept and given it a contemporary interpretation,” a representative of the project told Lonely Planet.

More information on Kruger Shalati: The Train on the Bridge is available at the official website.

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