Pongola (also known in Zulu as uPhongolo) is a small town situated in a very beautiful and fertile valley on the N2, near the Lubombo Mountains, in the valleys of Zululand, easily accessible to the Swaziland Border Posts, It is a unique and tranquil subtropical environment.. It has 50 km² of sugarcane and subtropical fruit plantations surrounding it. During the Depression years of the 1930s, drastic irrigation systems were started in Pongola. The town thrived as a result of the canal system and a sugar mill that was built.