Prince Albert and the Swartberg Pass

Thomas Bain'S 1888 Road Over The Swartberg, Built By Convict Labour In Dry Stone Without Mortar And Declared A National Monument Twenty Four Kilometres Of Gravel Hairpins Through Folded Rock That Is Still Unsurfaced On Purpose With The Karoo Village Of Prince Albert At Its Northern Foot, Growing Figs, Olives And Apricots On Spring Water · Prince Albert, Western Cape

Thomas Bain finished this road in 1888 with convict labour and no mortar, and nobody has improved on it since because nobody can - the dry stone retaining walls holding the hairpins against the mountain are the engineering, and surfacing the road would destroy the thing it is protected for. Twenty-four kilometres of gravel climb from the Karoo over the Swartberg and drop into the Little Karoo, through rock that has been folded upright so that strata you would expect to lie flat stand on end beside the car. It is a national monument, it takes an hour at the speed it deserves, and it is unfenced. At the northern foot sits Prince Albert, a Karoo village of whitewashed Cape Dutch gables growing figs, olives and apricots on mountain spring water led down furrows in the street, with a gallery or two, a good restaurant and some of the darkest night sky in the country. Oudtshoorn names the pass in passing. This row is the pass.

At the northern foot of the Swartberg, with the pass climbing over the range to Oudtshoorn 70 km south, Prince Albert, Western Cape, South Africa

THE SWARTBERG PASS IS A PUBLIC GRAVEL ROAD open at any hour and free, but it CLOSES AFTER HEAVY RAIN OR SNOW and the closure is real rather than advisory - check locally before committing, particularly in winter. CARAVANS AND TRAILERS ARE PROHIBITED and large motorhomes should not attempt it. Twenty-four kilometres takes an hour at a sensible speed and longer with stops; there is no fuel, no water and no phone signal for much of it. PRINCE ALBERT is a working village: the galleries, the olive and fig producers and the farm stall keep daylight hours and most close on Sundays or one weekday, the restaurants are few and worth booking, and the Saturday morning market is the weekly event. The Hell - Gamkaskloof - branches off the pass and is a four-hour round trip on a far rougher road. MALARIA-FREE.

Prince Albert and the Swartberg Pass on Spottos · Explore more places on Spottos