Little Karoo (Klein Karoo)

Little Karoo: Route 62 and where the Karoo meets the Cape

Little Karoo at a glance:

Why visit the Little Karoo and Route 62?

The Little Karoo – known in Afrikaans as the Klein Karoo, meaning 'small ' – is a narrow, semi-arid valley tucked between the Swartberg Mountains to the north and the Langeberg and Outeniqua ranges to the south. Often referred to as Route 62, after the tar road that threads through many of its towns, it should not be confused with the vast, flat Great Karoo that stretches beyond the Swartberg. This is a smaller, more intimate landscape: dramatically folded sandstone mountains, fertile valleys laced with vineyards and fruit orchards, and a string of historic towns that have changed little since the N2 highway drew traffic away in 1958.

Visitors come for many reasons – the ancient dripstone chambers of the Cango Caves, the working ostrich farms of Oudtshoorn, sunrise encounters with habituated wild meerkats, Big Five game reserves and a wine route reputed to be one of the longest in the world. Calitzdorp is celebrated as South Africa's port wine capital; Barrydale has become a hub for artisan producers and craft brewers; and Robertson grows some of South Africa's most recognised wines in its lime-rich, Langeberg-sheltered soils.

But what lingers is something harder to name: a quality of light on the mountain passes, the smell of fynbos and dust on a warm afternoon, and the sense of a landscape that rewards those who slow down.

All you need to know about the Little Karoo

The towns of Route 62

The towns strung along Route 62 are one of the Little Karoo's great pleasures. Each has its own character, pace and particular draw.

Oudtshoorn is the capital and most visited town in the Little Karoo. In the Victorian era it became the world centre for ostrich farming, and the wealth generated by the global plume trade built ornate sandstone mansions known as feather palaces, many of which survive in excellent condition. The CP Nel Museum, housed in a former feather palace, examines this heritage in depth. Today Oudtshoorn remains the ostrich capital of the world and the nearest large town to the Cango Caves. Its dramatic setting between the Swartberg and Outeniqua ranges makes it a natural base for exploring the wider region. The Klein Karoo National Arts Festival, held annually in Oudtshoorn, is one of South Africa's best-known arts events.

Robertson sits at the foot of the Langeberg Mountains at the western edge of the Little Karoo. Hot, dry summers and lime-rich soils produce wines that have earned Robertson a firm place on South Africa's wine map. Vineyards and rose farms share the valley floor, and tasting rooms and farm stalls are popular stops along Route 62. Robertson is closely linked in geography and character to the Cape Winelands, making it a natural first stop for travellers arriving from Cape Town.

Montagu is a charming, well-preserved town roughly two hours from Cape Town and twenty minutes from Robertson. Famous as the 'gateway to the Little Karoo', it is celebrated for its natural hot springs at Avalon Springs, where mineral water surfaces at 43 degrees Celsius. The scenic Cogmanskloof Pass leads into the town through intensely folded sandstone mountains. Montagu shares much of its winelands character with the Cape Winelands and is popular for wine tasting, mountain hiking, cycling and rock climbing.

Barrydale is a small town known for its artist community, craft producers and the Joubert-Tradouw wine cellar, a third-generation family estate producing wines in the traditional manner. Several well-regarded restaurants and characterful accommodation options have made Barrydale a destination in its own right, and it is the nearest Route 62 town to Sanbona Wildlife Reserve.

The Little Karoo's signature experiences

The Little Karoo's most iconic attractions cluster around four distinctive themes: wine, subterranean wonder, ostriches, meerkats and the Big Five.

Wine along Route 62

The Route 62 wine route is reputed to be one of the longest in the world, stretching from the Breede River Valley through Robertson, Montagu and Barrydale into the heart of the Klein Karoo. Robertson is at its productive core, with lime-rich soils and a hot, dry climate that suit a wide range of cultivars. Family-owned estates offer tastings in working farm settings, often accompanied by locally produced olive oils, cheeses and charcuterie. Calitzdorp, further east, is celebrated as South Africa's port wine capital, and the Joubert-Tradouw cellar in Barrydale is a third-generation family estate still using traditional methods. The Klein Karoo also forms part of the Breede River wine route.

The Cango Caves

Near Oudtshoorn, the Cango Caves are a sprawling complex of caverns, tunnels and passages that reach deep into the Swartberg Mountains. Inhabited during the Palaeolithic era and rediscovered in the 1800s, they offer two distinct visitor experiences: the Heritage Tour, which moves through the grandest chambers of stalactites, stalagmites and dripstone formations; and the more demanding Adventure Tour, which requires crawling and squeezing through narrower passages. Neither requires prior caving experience.

Ostrich farms

Oudtshoorn's identity is inseparable from the ostrich. In the 1880s and early 1900s, demand for ostrich plumes generated extraordinary wealth and led to the construction of the ornate sandstone feather palaces that still line the town's streets. Working ostrich farms today offer tours covering the history of the feather trade, the bird's life cycle, and the full range of ostrich products, including leather, eggs and lean meat, which features on almost every restaurant menu in the area.

Habituated wild meerkats

Meerkat encounters around Oudtshoorn are among the most memorable experiences on Route 62. These are not captive animals: habituated wild colonies have been accustomed to the presence of guides and allow close observation of natural behaviour. Tours begin at sunrise and are weather-dependent, as meerkats will not venture from their burrows in cold or rainy conditions. The experience, watching a colony emerge, sun themselves and begin foraging in the semi-desert scrubland, is photogenic, intimate and entirely wild in character.

Big Five

Sanbona Game Reserve near Montagu is a large, malaria-free reserve that offers the chance to spot rhinos, elephants, lions, leopards, and buffalo, in addition to other species such as brown hyenas, cheetahs, oryx, and ostriches.

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