Eastern Cape Highlands Accommodation

Why you might choose to stay in the Eastern Cape Highlands

Ukhahlamba, the Xhosa word meaning ‘barrier of spears’, refers to the majestic portion of the Drakensberg that dominates the northern section of the Eastern Cape, forming a border with the Free State. Did you know? Once you've booked your hotel or Eastern Cape Highlands accommodation in the Eastern Cape, explore the town and destination pages below for info on attractions, activities and things to do when you explore the Eastern Cape Highlands region. This region, through which winds the Orange River, is home to Lake !Gariep, Tiffindell - the only snow ski resort in the country, the hot springs of Aliwal North, and quaint Victorian towns like Lady Grey and the national monument town of Rhodes. The Eastern Cape Highlands is largely sheep, cattle and goat farming country. Its gentle sparseness and lack of evident wealth makes it perhaps a little less sought after by the average traveller, but the fashioning of a tourist route that covers over 600 kilometres between East London and Aliwal North, known as the Friendly N6 Route, has opened up this nether region, where wheat is grown in the foothills of the Drakensberg. Did you know? South Africa’s unofficial ‘snow valley’ lies in the high-lying remote parts of the Eastern Cape and includes the towns of Barkly East, Lady Grey, Indwe, Rhodes, Elliot, Maclear and Ugie. It includes the towns of Barkley East, Lady Grey and Tiffindell on its journey, and binds the Eastern Cape Highlands region and its inland towns to the rest of the province. With attractive outdoor options like mountain biking, trout fishing, horse trails, rock art, fossil trails, large forestry plantations around Maclear, Ugie and Mount Fletcher, pretty churches, and the water sports paradise that is Lake !Gariep - so vast that it crosses the boundaries of the Free State, Eastern and Northern Cape and the Karoo Heartland and covers over 360 kilometres - it is not surprising that this formerly undiscovered region is receiving unprecedented attention.

Did you know? In the southern reaches of the Drakensberg one finds in the more remote and ruggedly beautiful Eastern Cape Highlands yet more examples of San rock art, so experience the best of the region, by staying at one of the more luxurious Eastern Cape Highlands accommodation options.