Walking and Hiking in the Garden Route

In the Garden Route you drink in the sights of stunning beaches, majestic rock formations and waterfalls as you hike one of the most beautiful places on earth.

The Garden Route is not only significant for its convenience, since it effectively links the Eastern Cape (Storms River) with the Western Cape (Heidelberg), but it is also a tourist destination in its own right.

Did you know? Hiking the Garden Route incites the senses and promises a memorable experience of its pristine beauty.

The Garden Route is home to a number of popular destination towns; such as Knysna, Storms River, George, Mossel Bay and Plettenberg Bay. There are many attractions and activities along it the Garden Route including the Bloukrans Bridge (the world’s highest commercial bungee jump) and the Knysna Heads.

However, the Garden route is also significant for its magnificent mountain ranges and forests. The Tsitsikamma and Outeniqua mountain ranges provide magnificent backdrops to any road trip. The Tsitsikamma and Knysna indigenous forests are spectacular in their dense lushness and humid tranquillity.

Exploring the mountains and forests on foot is a very special way of experiencing this beauty. There are a number of formal hiking and walking trails in the Garden Route and you will find that Hotels in the Garden Route are plentiful and offer high standard of accommodation. These range from short walks to hikes that span several days.

The Otter Trail is certainly the best known and most challenging of the Garden Route hikes. Recognised as one of the best routes in the world, it covers a distance of 42.5 kilometres, which takes five days to complete. The Otter Trail extends from Storms River Mouth to Nature’s Valley, showcasing some of the most exquisite coastal, mountain and forest vistas imaginable.

Recommended Hiking in Garden Route

Cultural Sites / Hiking Trails

Point of Human Origins Experience

Stay? Mossel Bay Accommodation
"We know from genetic research that all people alive today are descendants of the core population of less than a thousand individuals who lived in Africa between ...

Hiking Trails

Hike the Otter Trail

Stay? Nature's Valley Accommodation
The Otter Trail follows the magnificent Garden Route coastline from Storms River Mouth to Nature's Valley in the Tsitsikamma National Park. The trail is 42,5 ...

Hiking Trails

Hiking in the Robberg Nature Reserve

Stay? Plettenberg Bay Accommodation
Robberg Nature Reserve is a charged booster of outdoor living - incredible scenery, views over shoreline and sea, a thriving Cape fur seal colony, a huge diversity ...

Hiking Trails / Sight Seeing

Hike the Dolphin Trail

Stay? Tsitsikamma Accommodation
For those hikers who know the rigours of the Otter Trail, and for those who have never had the luck or the courage to hike it, why not take a well earned break and ...

Hiking Trails / Walks & Hiking

Cape Clawless Otter Trail

Stay? Sedgefield Accommodation
The Cape Clawless Otter Trail is a 6.5km walk in the Goukamma Nature Reserve, along the edge of the Groenvlei Lake. The out-and-return route takes hikers ...

Forests / Hiking Trails / Walks & Hiking

The Elephant Walk

Stay? Knysna Accommodation
Start: Diepwalle Forest Station, near Knysna Finish: Diepwalle Forest Station Duration: 20 km, roughly 7 hours Fitness: moderate Our tip: you can get your ...

Hiking Trails / Walks & Hiking

Kingfisher Trails

Stay? Wilderness Accommodation
Start: Wilderness National Park near the Touws River bridge Duration: varying between 3.8 km and 10 km Fitness: easy and pefect for children or elderly ...

Hiking Trails / Walks & Hiking

Groeneweide Trail

Stay? George Accommodation
Start: Saasveld campus, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University End: the Kaaimans River Duration: 7 – 15 km Fitness: relatively easy Our tip: you will find ...

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Where to enjoy Hiking in Garden Route

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