Cape Winelands
Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl. An hour out and a different landscape, with towns worth walking as much as the farms.
Guides to this part of the city
Wine estates
Babylonstoren
A 1692 Cape Dutch working farm transformed into a world-class destination. Explore the famous eight-acre edible garden, taste estate wines, and dine…
Vergelegen Wine Estate
On the Helderberg slopes in Somerset West, Vergelegen (est. 1700) spans over 3,000 hectares. It pairs award-winning Bordeaux-style wines with celebrated gardens,…
Lanzerac Wine Estate
At the foot of the Jonkershoek Mountains, historic Lanzerac (est. 1692) is the birthplace of the world’s first bottled Pinotage. Today it…
La Motte
A historic Franschhoek estate dating to 1695, La Motte blends French Huguenot heritage with award-winning wines, contemporary South African cuisine, an artisan…
Delaire Graff
Perched on the Helshoogte Pass between Stellenbosch and Franschhoek, Delaire Graff blends acclaimed wines with fine dining, African art and a luxury…
Tokara Wine Estate
A premier Stellenbosch estate on the Helshoogte Pass, Tokara pairs internationally acclaimed wines with award-winning olive oil, fine dining and contemporary art,…
Boschendal
In the Franschhoek Valley, Boschendal (est. 1685) blends historic Cape Dutch architecture with award-winning wines, seasonal picnics, farm-to-table dining and luxury stays.…
Spier Wine Farm
Just outside Stellenbosch, Spier combines three centuries of Cape Dutch heritage with award-winning wines, chocolate pairings, art and picnics. Its regenerative farming…
Walking
La Motte Hiking Trail
La Motte’s hiking trail is a five-kilometre circular route on the estate, of which about two kilometres is trail proper. Allow two…
Jonkershoek Panorama Circuit
The Panorama Circuit is the big day in Jonkershoek. It climbs from the Eerste River to Bergriviernek, contours high across the Dwarsberg…
Dirtopia Hiking Loop, Muratie
The Dirtopia Trail Centre sits in the Ansela building on Muratie, off Knorhoek Road on the Simonsberg side of the R44. Its…
Swartboskloof to Sosyskloof
Sosyskloof is the easy loop in Jonkershoek, and it begins on exactly the same climb as the 18 kilometre Swartboskloof Trail. Where…
Tweede Waterval (Second Waterfall)
Tweede Waterval is the gentlest of the four official trails in Jonkershoek Nature Reserve. The path leaves the hairpin bend on the…
Perdekop Trail
The Perdekop Trail is the big day at Mont Rochelle Nature Reserve above Franschhoek: a thirteen-kilometre circuit to the reserve’s high point…
Golf
De Zalze Golf Club
De Zalze is a Peter Matkovich design laid out across three farms on the edge of Stellenbosch, with fairways running between vineyards,…
Hazendal Golf
Hazendal Golf is the shortest full round in this collection and the only one where every hole is a par 3. Eighteen…
Stellenbosch Golf Club
Stellenbosch Golf Club is, by its own account, the fourth oldest club in South Africa: a parkland layout at the foot of…
Erinvale Golf Club
Erinvale is a Gary Player design that opened in 1995 at the foot of the Helderberg in Somerset West, about thirty minutes…
Paarl Golf Club
Paarl Golf Club has twenty-seven holes on Boschenmeer Golf and Country Estate in the Paarl and Franschhoek valley, framed by mountains, rivers…
Pearl Valley Golf Course
Pearl Valley is a Nicklaus Design course in the Paarl and Franschhoek valley off the N1 north of Cape Town, ringed by…
Things to do
Wellington Wine Walk
The Wellington Wine Walk is a guided walking experience rather than a marked public trail. Accredited guides lead small groups between historic…
Franschhoek Wine Tram
The Wine Tram is how most visitors move between Franschhoek wine estates without driving. You choose one of five colour lines and…
Hot Air Ballooning
A sunrise flight over the Cape Winelands, lifting off from farmland as the light comes up. Flights go only when the air…
Cape Winelands Wine Tour
A driver lets you enjoy the tastings without worrying about the road home. Send us your dates, your group size and any…
Mountain biking
Bottelary Yellow Loop from Brenaissance
A mapped version of Bottelary Hills’ official Yellow Loop starting from Brenaissance, one of the Conservancy’s recognised access points. The route heads…
The Ibex
One of MTO Jonkershoek’s three featured routes, The Ibex combines a substantial valley climb with contour riding and a sequence of flowing…
Helderberg Farm Black Section
Helderberg Farm’s most demanding marked MTB route, combining a compact 12 km loop with substantial climbing and Black-grade riding. Green, Blue and…
Bovenland Red
Bovenland Red is a 12 km circular route in the Paarl Trails network, starting and finishing at Spice Route Destination. Paarl Trails…
The ABC Trail
A primary-confirmed Green route at Muratie built from three sections: A is 3.7 km to Gilloolys, C returns 2.7 km, and the…
More about this area
Everything else in Cape Winelands
Cape Winelands Wine Tour
The Winelands sit inland from the city, where the coastal plain runs up against the mountains and the valleys open out behind them. A tour day settles into a rhythm early. A drive out, tastings at a small number of estates, a long lunch somewhere in the middle, and a slower road home. Most days […]
Cape Peninsula Scenic Flight, Africa Sky Runners
The Peninsula is the kind of landscape that only really makes sense from above. The route runs out over Table Mountain and the Twelve Apostles, down the Atlantic side past Clifton and Camps Bay, on to the lighthouse at Cape Point, then back across False Bay and the Constantia valley. You fly in a Cessna, […]
Winelands Light Railway
The locomotives here are the real thing in miniature, coal-fired and built by hand, and they pull open carriages that adults and children ride together. The circuit runs through the grounds and across a red steel bridge over water, one of the park’s most distinctive features. It is an outdoor park rather than a single […]
Hot Air Ballooning
A balloon flight is the calmest way to see the Winelands. You lift off at first light from farmland among the vineyards, and the valley comes up slowly underneath you, vine rows and olive groves with the mountains standing behind them and Table Mountain often visible in the distance. The morning starts in the dark. […]
Wellington Wine Walk
The Wellington Wine Walk is not a trail you can turn up and walk. It is a guided experience: accredited guides lead small groups between historic Huguenot farms in the Wellington valley, luggage is carried ahead on the overnight itineraries, and the whole thing is booked in advance. It is the most substantial walking product […]
Polkadraai Farm
Strawberry picking is the seasonal centrepiece at Polkadraai Farm, with the fields open from September to January when conditions allow. Each person entering the fields purchases a picking container, and most visitors spend around 20 to 30 minutes filling it. The farm offers more than strawberry picking. Family activities include mini golf, pedal karts, tractor […]
Acrobranch Stellenbosch
Acrobranch Stellenbosch is set at Klein Joostenberg Farm, with courses designed around different ages and confidence levels. Acro-twigs caters for children aged three to six, while the Green Course introduces participants aged seven and older to elevated obstacles, climbing challenges and ziplines. Swinging Tarzan steps up the difficulty for participants aged seven and older who […]
Wonderdal at Hazendal
Wonderdal is the answer to a wet day, and one of the few places here with a published age range: five to thirteen. Children move through seven themed interactive zones covering science, nutrition and the natural world, led by characters called the Amuki and watched by staff. Sessions are booked and timed, one or two […]
Gliding Experience, Cape Gliding Club
Cape Gliding Club offers members of the public an introduction to gliding from its base at Worcester Airfield. Flights take place in a two-seat glider with a qualified instructor and are designed as a first lesson rather than simply a passenger flight. The glider is launched by aerotow, with a powered aircraft towing it into […]
Cape Canopy Tour
Cape Canopy Tour operates inside the Hottentots Holland Nature Reserve near Grabouw. Groups of up to nine guests head onto the course with two guides after travelling into the mountains by 4×4. The route combines 11 zipline slides with 13 elevated platforms and a suspension bridge spanning a double waterfall. The longest slide measures 320 […]