Barrydale

Barrydale is a village of a few thousand people in the Tradouw Valley, where the Overberg meets the Little Karoo, at the foot of the Langeberg. It sits on Route 62 at the northern end of the Tradouws Pass. For years it was a fruit and brandy town; then artists and writers started moving in, and it has become one of the stops people actually plan around on Route 62 rather than drive through. In December 2025 it was named Daily Maverick’s Small Town of the Year.

Getting there

It is under three hours from Cape Town. One way in is the N1 to Worcester, then the R62 through Robertson and Montagu, which is about 60 km west of Barrydale. The other is the N2 to Swellendam, about 50 km south, then through Suurbraak and over the Tradouws Pass on the R324. Doing one each way makes a good loop. The pass is not a hard drive, and the Drupkelder waterfall is on the way.

When to go

Fruit is the rhythm here. The harvest starts with apricots in December and runs into April, and dried fruit is one of the things to take home. Rainfall is low and farming depends on the Tradouw River and mountain streams, so expect dry country.

What to do

Most of what you do in Barrydale is slow. Eat on the main street, where the Country Pumpkin (look for the oversized pumpkin outside) is the restaurant travellers keep singling out. The Barrydale Wine Cellar does tastings; the local cooperative cellar dates from 1940, and the Joseph Barry brandy made here was named the world’s best in 2003.

Outside town there is mountain biking, hiking and horse riding in the valley, a labyrinth for walking meditation, and the South African Peace Pagoda, consecrated by a Burmese monk in 2000. Drive east out of town and you reach Ronnie’s Sex Shop, which despite the name is a roadside bar and a Route 62 institution, good for a cold beer. Further afield are Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, with rock paintings and big cats, and the Warmwaterberg Spa on the R62 towards Ladismith.

Good to know

Sources disagree on the founding date (anywhere from 1878 to 1882) and on which member of the Barry trading family the town is named after, so treat both loosely. What they agree on is the name: the Barry family were merchants and landowners across the Overberg in the 1800s. Rally driver Giniel de Villiers, winner of the 2009 Dakar, is a notable local.

Last updated 6 October 2026. Sources: Wikipedia, Wikivoyage, Karoo Space, Cycloscope, BusinessTech.