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
Franschhoek Wine Tram
The Franschhoek Wine Tram runs a hop-on hop-off service between wine estates in the Franschhoek valley, using a combination of trams and tram-buses. There are five routes, each identified by a colour, and departures leave from either the Franschhoek terminal or the Groot Drakenstein terminal depending on which line you have chosen. The lines are […]
Hot Yoga Stellenbosch
Hot Yoga Stellenbosch is in the De Wet Centre in the middle of town, on the corner of Bird and Church Streets, next door to Kauai. Every class is taught in a heated, humid room, which loosens the body quickly and makes the practice as much about managing your breathing as about the postures. For […]
Tweede Waterval (Second Waterfall)
Tweede Waterval is the gentlest of the four official trails in Jonkershoek Nature Reserve, and the one most visitors do. The path leaves the hairpin bend on the reserve’s circular route and follows the Eerste River upstream, passing the first waterfall on the way to the second. It is short enough to fit around lunch […]
Swartboskloof Trail
Swartboskloof is the harder of Jonkershoek’s two mountain days. It climbs the western kloof directly, gaining more than 900 metres in the first four and a half kilometres, before joining the high ground and coming home over Kurktrekkersnek and past the waterfalls. What makes it a separate outing from the Panorama Circuit is the ascent. […]
Breakfast Rock Trail
Breakfast Rock is the short walk at Mont Rochelle Nature Reserve, and the only Easy route there. Two kilometres there and back, around 135 metres of ascent, about forty-five minutes, with the first 450 metres following a gravel road before the path proper begins. It is also the opening section of the Uitkyk, Du Toitskop […]
Perdekop Trail
The Perdekop Trail is the big day at Mont Rochelle Nature Reserve above Franschhoek. It is a thirteen-kilometre circuit to the reserve’s high point at 1,575 metres, gaining roughly 850 metres along the way. Allow seven hours. The route can be walked in either direction and shares its opening stretch with the shorter Uitkyk Trail […]
Uitkyk Trail
Uitkyk is the outing at Mont Rochelle that most walkers should choose. Six kilometres there and back, around 360 metres of ascent, and a viewpoint that looks out over the Wemmershoek valley and dam rather than back down at Franschhoek. It shares its opening stretch with the short Breakfast Rock walk, so the first few […]
Du Toitskop Trail
Du Toitskop is Mont Rochelle’s second summit and a genuinely different day from Perdekop. Thirteen kilometres there and back, around 660 metres of ascent, topping out at 1,407 metres with the Franschhoek valley spread out below rather than the Wemmershoek side. It leaves on the same path as the short Breakfast Rock walk before climbing […]
La Motte Hiking Trail
La Motte’s hiking trail is the answer for anyone who wants to walk in the Franschhoek valley without climbing a mountain. It is a five-kilometre circular route on the estate, of which roughly two kilometres is trail proper, through fynbos and vineyard on the valley floor. Allow two hours at walking pace or three at […]
Swartboskloof to Sosyskloof
Sosyskloof is the easy loop in Jonkershoek, and it begins on exactly the same climb as the eighteen-kilometre Swartboskloof Trail. Where the long day carries on up the kloof, this route forks right at a marked second junction and contours back down to the jeep track, with an optional detour to a lookout hut. The […]