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
Hazendal Golf
Every hole here is a par 3. Eighteen of them make a par of 54, which is a different product from every other course in this collection, and the estate’s own visitor writing calls it a mashie course and puts a round at around two hours. It is not a novelty pitch-and-putt, though. The estate […]
Pearl Valley Golf Course
The tee sheet is searchable without an account, so you can see what is open before committing to anything. The platform states that registering and logging in makes you eligible for better personal rates and preferred tee times. What the club does not publish anywhere is a rate card. Green fees appear only inside the […]
Bottelary Yellow Loop from Brenaissance
Bottelary Hills is a large MTB network crossing working farms and wine estates around the Stellenbosch winelands. The Conservancy officially publishes a Yellow Loop and lists Brenaissance among its access points; this version follows a mapped 18.8 km loop from that starting area. The ride has two distinct halves. Much of the climbing comes early […]
The Ibex
The Ibex is one of three featured MTB routes published by MTO at Jonkershoek, combining a sustained climb into the valley with contour riding and a long sequence of descents on the return. It starts and finishes at the main MTO trailhead and gives a broad introduction to the scale and character of the Jonkershoek […]
Bovenland Red
Bovenland Red starts and finishes at Spice Route Destination and runs for 12 km through the Bovenland section of the Paarl Trails network. With 320 m of climbing, it combines vineyard terrain with purpose-built riding and open views across the Paarl valley. Despite the name, Red is the route identity rather than its technical grade. […]
Helderberg Farm Black Section
Helderberg Farm’s Black Section is the most demanding route in the farm’s colour-graded MTB network. Over 12 km it packs in around 600 m of climbing, giving the ride a steep, concentrated character on the foothills above Somerset West. The wider trail network is part of the appeal. Green, Blue and Red options leave from […]
The ABC Trail
The ABC Trail is Muratie’s beginner Green route, starting at the Dirtopia Trail Centre on Muratie Wine Estate and running through the Simonsberg trail system to Gilloolys. The operator publishes it as three connected sections. A runs 3.7 km from the Muratie trailhead to Gilloolys, C returns 2.7 km, and B is an optional 1.8 […]
Helderberg Nature Reserve
Somerset West sits at the foot of the Hottentots Holland Mountains, and Helderberg Nature Reserve is the town’s doorway into them. Where Tygerberg protects an isolated hill of open renosterveld and Newlands Forest offers shaded recreation on the city side of the mountain, Helderberg combines manicured lower gardens and picnic lawns with a footpath network […]
Blaauwklippen Wine Estate
Overview Blaauwklippen Wine Estate has been a working Stellenbosch farm since 1682. Set on the R44 beneath the Stellenbosch Mountains, it combines more than three centuries of heritage with guided tastings, creative pairings, restaurants and a lively weekend family market. The estate is both Stellenbosch’s oldest wine estate and South Africa’s first registered company. Today […]
Babylonstoren
Overview Nestled in the heart of the Cape Winelands between Paarl and Franschhoek, Babylonstoren is one of South Africa’s most iconic wine estates, renowned for its magnificent gardens, award-winning wines, exceptional farm-to-table dining and luxurious accommodation. Dating back to 1692, it combines centuries of Cape Dutch history with contemporary design and innovative farming. At its […]