Formosa Nature Reserve

Formosa Nature Reserve

Just north of Nature's Valley, between the towns of Kareedouw and Misgund, the Formosa Nature Reserve lies inland of what is arguably the most beautiful stretch of coastline in the country - the Garden Route. The Formosa Nature Reserve probably got its title from Bartholomew Dias, as early as 1488, when he named the peaks that surround Plettenberg Bay 'Pic Formosa'. The Formosa peak remains the highest peak in the Tsitsikamma range of mountains today and is one of the major attractions of the reserve.

The 5 0000 hectare reserve, which includes the Tsitsikamma Mountains within its range, is described as 'beautifully wild' and little is written about it, ensuring its obscurity and making it high on the itinerary list of anyone who enjoys the solitude of a reserve seldom disturbed. There are no formal hikes in the reserve, which doesn't stop walkers of all description heading out here to amble along informal paths and trek towards the famous peak. Whilst a flourishing bird life attracts birders to the reserve, which is dominated mainly by mountain forest and wet fynbos.

One could spend days in the area surrounded only by the wild, as the long stretch of the Formosa Nature Reserve lies almost midway between the Tsitsikamma National Park, Nature's Valley, and the Baviaanskloof Wilderness Area. Just north of Formosa Nature Reserve lies a short stretch of Route 62, best likened to America's Route 66, which strings together the little towns of Kareedouw, Kammiebos, Joubertina, Louterwater, Misgund and Haarlem - a group of beautifully preserved villages that have suffered little from remaining in hibernation awaiting re-discovery.