The 11 Best Adventures in the Western Cape Karoo

Wind pumps and ostrich farms, subterranean caves and soaring sandstone cliffs, dizzying hairpin bends and dirt roads disappearing into far-flung middle-of-nowhere valleys… The sultry Karoo has a way of getting under your skin and into your blood. It can seem tough at first, its rock-hard surfaces and weathered edges bestowing it with a kind of Wild West atmosphere. Once you get closer, though, you discover the subtle nuances of a place built for adventure, full of intricate mountain passes, life-filled valleys and beautiful trails to explore.

While the Great Karoo’s vastness spreads all the way into the Northern Cape and Free State and makes even gentle exploration an adventure, the Klein (Little) Karoo – a sun-drenched area about 250km long and 70km wide – has softer edges, more rainfall and even greater variety. Wedged between the coastal mountains that separate it from the Garden Route and the impressive Swartberg range that distinguishes it from the Karoo proper, it is full of opportunities, whether you’re keen to commune with meerkats or kick back in the saddle.

Drive, hike, cycle, ride a horse or dally with donkeys… Whatever kind of adventure blows your hair back, you’ll find it here. Just be sure to mix these bucket-list moments with time spent savouring life’s simpler pleasures, many of which are here in abundance, too.

Explore back roads on a gravel grinder tour

The Karoo Gravel Grinder is a three-day, hugely sociable cycling adventure with lots of gorgeous food experiences built in – useful whether you need the energy or simply want to taste your way through some of the wonderful produce on offer in the Karoo. Centred on Prince Albert, with cycling on the Swartberg Pass or along the dirt road that takes you to Weltevrede Fig Farm, it’s all about exploring the terrain at a pace that works for you. Day three has almost no uphills at all, but plenty to see as you explore the Karoo plateau and descend the Tierkloof Pass. Each morning’s ride concludes with lunch at a carefully selected restaurant, your afternoons are free to explore more of Prince Albert and its surrounds, and evenings are spent socialising over good Karoo food and wine.
Manageability You should be able to ride for between 55km and 65km per day, but if you’ve had enough at any point, there’s a sweeper bus to pick you up. It’s a social tour, so no-one is expecting you to race, and e-bikes are welcome.
Cost R18 500 for a single rider, R34 700 for two riders sharing a room. Includes three nights’ accommodation in Prince Albert and all meals.
Good to know MTB Africa also offers a non-rider companion itinerary that includes activities (such as a cooking class) at venues in and around Prince Albert, priced at R35 700 per couple.
Look out for other Gravel Grinder tours based around Montagu and Graaff-Reinet.
Times There are a number of scheduled tours throughout the year. The next one commences 15 May 2025. View the calendar
Contact 060 450 1706, karoogravelgrinder@mtbafrica.co.za
Where to find it Hope Street, Prince Albert

Channel your inner cowboy on a horseback adventure

Descended from incredibly hardy bloodlines, the horses at Doornkraal farm have, over more than 140 years, developed into superb steeds that now occupy the stables of Klein Karoo Horse Adventures. Bred for their reliability as riding horses, they’re known for their good temperament, gentle disposition and sure-footedness – excellent qualities in this rugged terrain. From their farm at the foot of the Swartberg mountains near the tiny town of De Rust, the three-hour Doornkloof Trail covers a variety of terrain and gives riders a chance to scope valleys and mountains from the saddle, clip-clop along rocky streams, and take in just the right amount of wildness for a bit of a low-key cowboy vibe.
Manageability Riders must weigh under 100kg and be at least 5 years old.
Good to know There are a variety of shorter and slightly longer trails, too, and they can also create bespoke itineraries and arrange picnic and sundowner rides.
Cost R1 200 per person
Times Daily, 7.30am – 10.30am; 9am – 12pm
Where to find it Stompdrift Dam Road, De Rust

Mind your step on a Karoo Camino

To truly appreciate the vast soul-restoring emptiness of the Karoo, there’s nothing like quiet, lowkey walking, a kind of meditative calm taking hold to get a sense of the dimensions and to train your eyes and ears to appreciate what’s all around you. There are several camino-style walking routes in the region, including a hike linking various houses of worship in and around Oudtshoorn, and the Hope Camino, which connects Calitzdorp’s NG Church with the Zebra Church at Klipdrift.
A more luxurious way of experiencing the region while walking is with Makadas Adventures, which offers a six-day 109km slackpacking hike across a number of private reserves and farms in the Klein Karoo Gravel Corridor between Ladismith and Montagu. Daily hiking distances range from 13km and up to 24km, with camping that includes ready-made beds, hot showers, good food and wine along the way. Luggage is transported for you and you’re accompanied by a guide (trained in botany) who interprets the natural landscape you’re walking through and gives you information on the medicinal uses of the flora you encounter.
Manageability Walking is mostly along the Klein Karoo’s gravel roads, so it’s relatively easy as hikes go, but you do need to be able to hike up to 24km in a single day and keep going for six days.
Good to know If six days of hiking sounds too extreme, there are unscheduled shorter hiking-focused stays (two nights, either weekends or midweek) available, too.
Cost R8 400 per person sharing; R9 800 per person non-sharing with own tent (inclusive of meals but not drinks).
Times There are eight caminos scheduled per year, the next one is in early April 2025.
Contact 083 312 7271, 021 981 9535, events@makadasadventures.co.za
Where to find it Klein Karoo Gravel Corridor, between Montagu and Ladismith
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Bomb down the Swartberg Pass on a mountain-bike

Peter Kirk Media

Traversing the Swartberg Pass, knuckles white as your hands clench the handlebars, is one of the Karoo’s great adventures. It’s easy to see why Thomas Bain’s masterful 27km of engineering is considered among the world’s great mountain passes – and there are jaw-dropping views and towering rock formations in radiant hues around every corner. Operated by a Klein Karoo farmer who pivoted to tourism and now runs a successful restaurant near Oudtshoorn, the Kobus se Gat Swartberg Experience is the easiest way to experience the slightly giddy-making adventure of mountain-biking down the Swartberg Pass with a back-up vehicle, just in case. You meet at the restaurant below the Pass and are transferred to the “Die Top” (as the highest point on the route is known) and then it’s up to you to hold on tight and keep your bum in the saddle as you peddle or coast downhill for around 14km back to the restaurant.
Manageability You need steely nerves, a padded backside (bouncing on the gravel road will cause your bum to take a bit of a strain), closed shoes and the ability to stay on a bike for an hour. It’s not for the fainthearted, although if you can keep your nerve, you’ll have a blast.
Good to know No under 13-year-olds.
Cost R1 100 per person (includes bike and helmet hire, Roosterkoek snack + indigenous tea tasting)
Times Daily, 10.30am – 1.30pm
Where to find it Kobus se Gat, R328 (Prince Albert Road), Matjiesrivier, Oudtshoorn
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Hang with meerkats at sunrise

Meerkats start each day with a strange ritual in which they sit upright, chests facing the sun. They’re essentially harnessing energy to kickstart their day. It’s this bizarrely cute behaviour that earned meerkats a reputation in local mythology as “Sun Angels”, sent by the gods as protection against werewolf-like creatures called “Moon Devils”. Oudtshoorn’s meerkats became internationally famous a couple of decades ago when they appeared in a number of European TV documentaries. To meet these curious and fascinating critters in person you have to be up before the crack of dawn to meet up with a guide from Five Shy Meerkats. These meerkat whisperers study, track and protect these creatures and their morning expeditions take guests to see a family of habituated meerkats as they emerge from their burrows just as the sun starts to rise. If everything goes to plan, you will watch and wait and observe until the “sentinel” meerkat gives a polite, reassuring chirrup known as the “Watchman’s Song”, signalling to the rest of his mob that it’s safe to come out. Non-stop cuteness invariably ensues.
Manageability The toughest part of the adventure is being up before sunrise, especially in the winter cold. You need to be able to walk at least 1km, and patience is a good-to-have as it can be a waiting game.
Good to know No under 10-year-olds
Cost R720 per person (includes coffee, tea and homemade rusks)
Times Tours commence at sunrise (exact start time is confirmed a day in advance) and take 2–3 hours.
Where to find it Oudtshoorn

Discover blooming miracles at Wolwekraal

Ecologist Dr Sue Milton-Dean is the world’s foremost expert on the Karoo’s botanical life. As entrepreneurial conservationists, she and her husband Richard established a 100-hectare desert farm with the express purpose of preserving and researching Karoo plants and showing off the wonder of this unique botanical terrain to visitors. The knowledge and insight she brings on her two-hour 2km walk at Wolwekraal Nature Reserve (near Prince Albert) is absolutely wondrous as she talks you through the geology of the 250-million-year-old rocks and inland sea that once existed here, and introduces you to the idiosyncrasies of just some of the 4 500 plants found in the Karoo. You’ll also likely see the footprints of porcupines and bat-eared foxes, and get a look at lizards, spiders and crazy-looking Karoo insects. “In flower season,” Sue says, “there’s a ceaseless miracle as blooms emerge from the arid soil, some of them popping up for only one day – then they’re gone.”
Manageability You need to be able to walk for 2km and be on your feet for two hours. Take sun protection and water.
Cost R250 per person
Times By appointment only
Contact 082 770 0206, 082 224 9281 (WhatsApp to book)
Where to find it R353, north of Prince Albert

Stare at the stars and the Milky Way

People come from all over the world, especially the congested, light-polluted cities of Europe, to witness the unfettered blackness of the night skies we have in the Karoo. Some of the best stargazing in the country happens in places like Prince Albert, or in just about any of the smaller towns and hamlets across the region. It does help, though, to have a telescope and a knowledgeable guide to unravel the science and point out which constellations are which. One way to enjoy the wonder is with True South Travel’s “High 5” stargazing adventure, an after-dinner night-sky excursion centred on Oudtshoorn. Pick-ups happen from a select number of guesthouses or by arrangement and then you’re conducted into the veld where light pollution is minimal so you can spend a good hour learning about stars and various celestial phenomena such as clusters, nebulae and the Milky Way.
Manageability Absolutely anyone can do it as long as looking up doesn’t make you dizzy. Good weather is a requirement – if it’s overcast, the tour is cancelled.
Good to know Minimum age is 6. Minimum of two guests for the tour to proceed.
Cost R990 per person
Times Daily, 8.30pm – 9.30pm
Where to find it Oudtshoorn

Go to hell and back on the Donkey Trail

Jaques Marais

Even in a 4×4, getting to Die Hel (literally “The Hell”), which also goes by the less intimidating name of Gamkaskloof, is one serious adventure. The secluded valley in the Swartberg Mountains was first inhabited by farmers in 1830 and until 1963 was accessible only on foot. Even today, the road turning off the Swartberg Pass comes with a sense of dread that you might be directing your car into a place from which you’ll never return. You need to be entirely self-sufficient once you’re there, holed up in one of the CapeNature cottages for rent.
You can bike in on the two-day To Hell & Back MTB stage race (organised by EcoBound), or another, even more adventuresome way of getting there is via The Donkey Trail, which is a five-day slackpacking hike following the original pathway which was the only route into Die Hel until 1963, when the road in and out of the valley was built. The hike starts from Groenfontein (15km from Calitzdorp) and you’re accompanied by donkeys who do most of the carrying and make for charming company, too. The adventure includes a day spent exploring Gamkaskloof, after which there’s the matter of a 19km hike back out, with a portion of it pretty steep.
Manageability Hiking is mostly on cleared pathways and dirt roads. Although there’s no rock climbing, day one covers 17.9km and is pretty strenuous – you need to be fit. Day two is a long hike of 22km with some steep downhill scrambles on rocky terrain with loose stones. If the Gamka River is in flood, there may be a waist-deep crossing. Day four’s hike out of the valley includes a steep 1.5km climb up “die Leer” (“the ladder”).
Cost R13 800 (fully-inclusive, excluding alcoholic beverages) per person
Times By arrangement
Contact 073 593 4007, info@donkeytrail.com
Where to find it Living Waters Mountain Estate, Groenfontein, Calitzdorp
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Walk the Fossil Trail at Karoo National Park

For a lowkey Indiana Jones adventure, get yourself to Karoo National Park, where there’s a 400m paved walkway that leads between a series of animal fossils and chunks of petrified wood that collectively give some sense of the prehistoric geology of the Great Karoo, as well as insight into the palaeontology backstory of the region. Information boards along the way help colour the picture, and once you’re done travelling millions of years back in time, you can explore more of the reserve – there are four 4×4 trails and easier roads to safari on, including the picturesque Klipspringer Pass with its scenic viewpoint.
Manageability The Fossil trail is easy and designed to be accessible to everyone – it is also wheelchair accessible.
Good to know SanParks offers a number of accommodation options within the park.
Cost Adults: R70 (SA residents), R141 (SADC nationals), R293 (international)
Children (aged 2 – 11): R35 (SA), R70 (SADC), R147 (international)
Times Daily, 5am – 10pm (main gate)
Contact 023 415 2828/9, 023 414 7080, karooreservations@sanparks.org
Where to find it Off N1, near Beaufort West

Climb the cliffs at Karbonaatjies Kraal

(left image) Garrreth Bird

At the fringes of the Karoo, the Hex River Valley (yes, named because of a local witch or “heks” in Afrikaans legend) situated just north of the N1 between De Doorns and Touws River, is a dynamic location for mountain-biking, hikes into rough and rugged mountains, and also mountain climbing. At Karbonaatjies Kraal, situated on a private reserve belonging to the Karoo1 Hotel Village, there are vertiginous rock faces that look as though they were tailor-made for climbing, footholds and places to grab on to in abundance, with good multi-pitch sandstone surfaces and a large amphitheatre (in full view of the hotel’s gorgeous rock pool) crying out to be explored. There are over 50 more established routes, including two sports routes, and plenty of as-yet undiscovered routes, too. Grades vary from 10/4 to 28/7b+ so there’s something for everyone and climbing’s possible year-round, although the daytime heat of peak summer months can be intense and the rock gets baking hot. Then, come mid-winter, the extreme cold can be a real nuisance.
Manageability You need your own climbing equipment and should be self-sufficient on the rock face as there is no supervision or guide.
Cost Climbing is free but only available to guests at Karoo1 Village or AfriCamps Karoo1.
Where to find it Karoo1 Hotel Village, off the N1, near De Doorns
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Squeeze through the Devil’s Postbox at Cango Caves

Vast subterranean caverns fashioned by water seeping through porous limestone over many millennia, the Cango Caves were first explored in 1780 by a local farmer who was lowered into the blackness of a bat-filled chamber. Named in his honour, the Van Zyl Hall is 16m high and 107m across and lit up to highlight such fascinating natural features as the Organ Pipes along with other million-year-old limestone formations. More chambers were discovered later and the caves were eventually commercialised, not always respectfully. Today, there are two tours to choose from: the hour-long Heritage Tour visits six chambers; a 90-minute Adventure Tour covers just over 1km, including Lumbago Alley and the aptly named Devil’s Chimney and Devil’s Postbox, which require some crawling and squeezing that is not for the fainthearted.
Manageability The Adventure Tour has some extremely tight spaces, and some potentially panic-inducing moments when you’re subject to full darkness. It can be overwhelming. Under no circumstances tackle this if you’re overweight or claustrophobic, if you have heart, knee, or breathing problems, or if you’re not wearing sensible shoes – it’s slippery in places.
Good to know Children of all ages are allowed on the Heritage Tour. Only children over 8 years old are allowed on the Adventure Tour.
Cost Heritage Tour: R250 (adults), R150 (children 5 – 12 years)
Adventure Tour: R320 (adults), R200 (children 8 – 12 years)
Times Daily, 9am – 5pm
Heritage Tour departs every hour, on the hour, from 9am – 4pm
Adventure Tour departs every hour, on the half-hour, from 9.30am – 3.30pm
Contact 082 303 0029, 066 486 9475, reservations@cangocaves.co.za
Where to find it R328 (Cango Caves Road), Oudtshoorn
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You might also be interested in:
The Best Farm Stays in the Karoo
The Best Foodies Experiences in the Karoo
The Best Places to Stay in Prince Albert

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