Montagu

Montagu is a Route 62 town where the Breede River valley gives way to the Little Karoo, about 180 to 190 km east of Cape Town. It was founded in 1851 on the farm Uitvlugt and named after John Montagu, then Colonial Secretary of the Cape. You arrive through Cogmanskloof, a gap in the mountains with folded rock walls and a tunnel. People stop for the hot springs, bathed in since 1873, and stay for the climbing, the old houses on Long Street and the muscadel.

Getting there

By car take the N1 to Worcester, the R60 through Robertson and Ashton, then the R62 for the last 14 km through Cogmanskloof. Allow two to two and a half hours from Cape Town. The pass is nearly 7 km long and goes through what is said to be the oldest rock tunnel in South Africa, built under Thomas Bain and finished in 1877, with an English fort of 1899 on top; flood markers show the levels of 1981, 2003 and 2008. Munnik’s InterTown Coaches runs a bus from Bellville on some days, and long-distance coaches stop in Ashton, 10 km away.

When to go

Spring (September and October) and autumn (April and May) are the comfortable seasons; local opinion favours April for calm days around 25°C. January and February can pass 40°C, and hikers need an early start, a hat and far more water than they think. Winter nights fall to around freezing with snow on the Langeberg, and most rain comes between May and August.

What to do

The hot springs are 3 km from town, open daily 08:00 to 20:00, with several pools fed by mineral water that comes out of the ground at up to about 42°C. Lover’s Walk, a footpath through the cliffs to the springs, was rebuilt after the 1981 flood tore it out. Climbers come for over 400 bolted sport routes on the surrounding crags. Hikers buy a permit from the tourism office for the Bloupunt trail (15.6 km, five to nine hours, to a 1,266 m summit), the Cogmanskloof trail (12.1 km) or the short Aasvoëlkrans walk (3.2 km).

The Protea Farm tractor ride, 29 km out on the R318 in the Koo valley, climbs by trailer to about 1,500 m on the Langeberg on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10:00, with a potjiekos lunch if you book it. In town, Joubert House of 1853, the oldest townhouse, has a garden of medicinal plants and a tiny jail next door. The Saturday morning market in Euvrard Park sells vegetables, baked goods and preserves. Montagu Wines and Spirits has made muscadel since the 1930s, and the Cape Dry factory shop sells the dried fruit the district is known for.

Good to know

Tourism information is at the Montagu Country Hotel on Bath Street. The tractor ride needs a minimum number of passengers and does not run on Sundays, so book rather than turn up. Barrydale is 62 km further along Route 62 if you are heading east.

Last updated 6 October 2026. Sources: Wikipedia, Wikivoyage, Montagu Ashton Tourism, South African History Online, Roxanne Reid.