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
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 plateau with the whole valley open beneath it, then descends Kurktrekkersnek and finishes past both waterfalls. It can be walked in either direction, and a short detour adds Guardian Peak at 1,227 metres. […]
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 hiking trail is a dedicated three-and-a-half kilometre circular route, kept separate from the mountain-bike network on the same farms, climbing more than 220 hand-built steps to viewpoints at Gilloolys and Clapham Junction before […]
Wellington Golf Club
The layout is nine holes with eleven greens. Four extra greens were added for the club’s centenary, so the second nine plays differently from the first over the same ground, and the club gives the full round a par of 72. Booking is by phone. The club says an online system is coming, but for […]
Stellenbosch Golf Club
Stellenbosch takes a visitor booking as a request rather than a confirmed tee time. The guest booking form asks for your date, preferred time and number of players, and the club comes back to you. There is no public tee sheet and no availability shown, so leave lead time. Green fees swing hard with the […]
Erinvale Golf Club
Erinvale is a members’ club rather than a pay-and-play course, and it names the days it takes visitors: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. No handicap or introduction condition is attached to that sentence, but a Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday round is not on offer. The second thing to know is that the club’s fee table […]
Somerset West Golf Club
The menu item labelled Bookings goes to a general contact form. There is no date field, no tee-slot picker and no availability calendar anywhere on the site, so a submitted form is a request the club replies to rather than a confirmed time. Phone if your date is tight. Affiliation is the other thing to […]
De Zalze Golf Club
Peter Matkovich was commissioned in the mid-1990s to lay eighteen holes across three farms on the edge of Stellenbosch, and the farming is still the setting rather than a backdrop. Fairways run between vineyards, olive groves and lavender, riverine bush follows the lower ground, and the Helderberg stands over the property. It is parkland golf […]
Devonvale Golf and Wine Estate
Booking here is a request rather than a confirmed slot. The estate’s form takes your date, time, number of players, number of carts and whether you want nine or eighteen holes, and sends it to the pro shop, which confirms afterwards. The pro shop line and email are quicker if your date is tight. Saturday […]
Paarl Golf Club
Paarl has twenty-seven holes rather than eighteen, arranged as three nines that combine into three named eighteen-hole courses. Which one you play depends on the day, so it is worth asking when you book: the club publishes a separate conversion table for each combination. Booking is by phone or email. The Book A Tee Time […]
Helderberg Village Golf Club
Three days are out. The club’s own booking form states no Monday, Wednesday or Saturday, and the site refers to dedicated members-only days, so plan around the other four. Booking is an enquiry rather than an instant tee time, and the estate screens visitors at the gate. Be expected rather than turning up. The course […]