Citrusdal, Cederberg
Home to a variety of beautiful guest farms and budget-friendly accommodation, Citrusdal is just two hours from Cape Town at the gateway to the Cederberg.
Citrusdal is surrounded by gorgeous scenery and lies nestled between the Koue Bokkeveld and Swartberg Mountains. Flowing through this fertile valley is the lifeblood of the farming community, the Olifants River. Citrusdal is synonymous with its superior citrus fruits and products, although local farmers also grow rooibos tea and vegetables, produce honey and keep cattle and sheep, and the Goue Vallei wines are produced from locally grown grapes.
The Cederberg, famous for its remarkable sandstone and shale rock formations deposited some 500 million years ago, is a vast region stretching from the Pakhuis Pass in the north to Grootrivier in the south. This rugged and mountainous terrain was originally the home of the San and Khoi peoples, who left behind them a legacy of rock art.
The Cederberg conservancy, essentially a voluntary agreement between private landowners to manage the environment in a sustainable way, exists today as a result of the complete exploitation of the Cederberg's natural resources for over 70 years. Cedar wood, rooibos tea, buchu and rockwood bark were harvested while farmers used the mountains for grazing. Today the conservancy, along with the Biedouw conservancy and the Cederberg Wilderness Area, seeks to protect the natural heritage of the area and are custodians of the Clanwilliam Cedar tree and the rare Cape leopard.
Citrusdal and its surrounding area is very popular with hikers and mountaineers and the incredible grandeur of the Cederberg offers moments of solitude and contemplation as well as some unique and rugged hikes to suit all levels of fitness.
For mountaineering head off to the Wolfberg Arch and Cracks, the Maltese Cross, Tafelberg or Sneeuberg and for those not so fit there is Maalgat pool and the Stadsaal (city hall) caves.
Shorter walks include the Cederberg winery, which has been making wines since the late 1970s and offers some wonderful hikes. The Cederberg Observatory on the farm Dwarsrivier offers not only some amazing hiking opportunities, but is home to an observatory complete with a 16” telescope, a shed with a roll-off roof and unpolluted dark skies with magnificent mountain views.
And if you get a moment, try to visit the oldest orange tree in the country - over 250 years' old and a national monument - which stands on the Hexrivier farm in the valley of Citrusdal.
Additional Reading
Travellers' Reviews
1 Review from SA-Venues.com travellers. All reviews are verified.
Verified review
Will be the first time me and my wife visit Citrusdal on our 21st Wedding Anniversary. Hoping to have a good time and the urge when we leave to tell other people and to come back for more and more visits.
Rodney (Western Cape)
In the vicinity
Hotels & other accommodation options
Kareeboom House
Kareeboom House offers Cederberg Accommodation at Mount Ceder and is located at the foot of the surrounding mountains. Nestled in a valley of the...
Klipbokkop House
Klipbokkop House at Mount Ceder offers Cederberg accommodation with a magnificent 360 degree view of the surrounding landscape. Mount Ceder lies ...
Kagga Kamma Nature Reserve
Kagga Kamma Nature Reserve is located in an untouched wilderness area near Ceres, renowned for its scenic beauty and dramatic rock formations typ...
Mount Ceder Lodge
Mount Ceder is situated in a valley surrounded by mountains on the farm Grootrivier, next to the main route through the Cedarberg, approximately ...
Leopard Valley Glamping
Leopard Valley Glamping Tents offers glamping accommodation in a peaceful valley between Citrusdal and Clanwilliam. The glamping tents are each ...
Opstal at Cederkloof
The Opstal is a self-catering holiday home located at Cederkloof Botanical Retreat which is nestled in a breathtaking gorge in the Olifants river...
Piekenierskloof Mountain Resort
Situated in Citrusdal, Piekenierskloof Mountain Resort offers comfortable accommodation for up to 140 guests. You can play mini-golf at this reso...
Kromrivier Cederberg Park
Cederberg Park is located on Kromrivier which is a working farm with a child-friendly farmyard in the heart of the Cederberg. Today, Kromrivier R...
Malachite Sunbird Cabin
Malachite Sunbird Cabin offers Cederberg self catering in a one bedroom cabin located in the Cape Leopard Valley in Citrusdal. We are passionate ...
Sewefontein Homestead
Sewefontein Homestead offers visitors the opportunity to stay on a working farm just a short drive from Citrusdal. Sewefontein Guest Farm is the ...
Verreaux's Eagle
Verreaux's Eagle is a cosy self-catering eco-cabin offering Citrusdal accommodation perched on the side of the mountain, with sweeping views down...
Aan d' Oewer B&B
Aan d' Oewer B&B is set in a beautiful lush garden with the Piekenierskloof mountains as the backdrop. Guests have a choice of rooms each with a ...
Petersfield Mountain Cottages
Petersfield is a working citrus and Rooibos tea farm overlooking the town of Citrusdal in the Cederberg area. Situated 170 km form Cape Town on t...
Cape Sugarbird Cabin
Cape Sugarbird is a spacious self catering eco-cabin offering Citrusdal accommodation. The cabin is perched on the edge of a waterlily pond with ...
Cederkloof Botanical Retreat
These private mountain cottages are situated on a 270 ha fynbos and citrus farm in the Citrusdal Valley in the Oliphants River Mountains which ne...
Cape Canary Cabin
Cape Canary is a cosy self-catering eco-cabin perched on the side of the mountain, with sweeping views down the valley. This cabin features a pri...
Leopard Valley Eco Retreat
Leopard Valley is an Eco Retreat nestled in a peaceful valley between Citrusdal and Clanilliam.There are various cabins crafted from used shippin...
Blinkberg House
Blinkberg House offers Cederberg accommodation nestled on the slopes of Tuinskloof ridge at Mount Ceder. Mount Ceder which lies within easy reach...
Cederkloof Luxury Forest Camp
Cederkloof Luxury Forest Camp offers comfortable tented accommodation in the Cederkloof Botanical Retreat. The retreat forms part of a working fa...
Things to do in the area
Citrusdal Museum
The Citrusdal Museum is housed in a former old stone church. Here you will discover more about the first colonists and San inhabitants in the are...
De Tol Farm Stall
De Tol Farm Stall is located about 6km from Citrusdal on the Piekenierskloof Pass. The beautiful farmhouse boasts a terrific farm stall and a sm...
The Old Village Restaurant & Pub
The first building after the pass opened was the post office and trading store, which has been turned into an elegant restaurant with restaurante...
Horse Riding at Mount Ceder
Day horse-rides - Go explore a beautiful valley, see bushman paintings, visit an old farmhouse ruin and have a swim at the waterfall or river whe...
Olive Grove Cycle Route
Go Mountain Biking at Mount Ceder on the Olive grove cycle route - Mount Ceder has recently marked a cycle route for the whole family. This route...
The Grapevine Coffee Shop
Stop off at the gorgeous 'The Grapevine coffee shop' for something to eat and drink while in Citrusdal. With its green and white interior, white...
Doring River White Water Rafting
Doring River offers white water rafting adventures from mid-June to September, on the river that winds through the Cederberg. Arrive the night be...
Rooibos Factory
The Rooibos factory is based in the small town of Clanwilliam, and originally started as a cottage industry. It has grown over the years, ...
Noteworthy attractions
Cederberg Wilderness Area
The Cederberg Wilderness Area lies some 200 km north of Cape Town. This vast area stretches from the Middelberg Pass at Citrusdal to north of the...
Beaverlac Nature Reserve
This little talked about gem lies just 25 kilometres outside of Porterville, roughly 2 hours from Cape Town, in the Olifants River Mountains in t...
Bushmanskloof Wilderness
Bushmanskloof Wilderness, lying in the northern Cederberg wilderness roughly 270 kilometres from Cape Town, is a South African Natural Heritage S...
Matjiesrivier Nature Reserve
The beautiful Matjiesrivier Nature Reserve lies on the eastern edge of the Cederberg Mountains, managed as part of the greater Cederberg conserva...
Pakhuis Conservancy
Set on the northern edge of the Cederberg Wilderness area, roughly 300 kilometres from Cape Town and close to the town of Clanwilliam, the Pakhui...
Middle Keurbooms Conservancy
On the beautiful Prince Alfred Pass lies the Middle Keurbooms Conservancy, or MKC for short. More than 30 000 hectares have been designated by la...
Katbakkies Pass
Katbakkies Pass has what is commonly known as a descriptive name. Others in the area include Houdenbek and Skitterykloof - although Skitterykloof...
Nieuwoudt Pass
The Nieuwoudt Pass is a dirt road that occurs roughly halfway between Citrusdal and Clanwilliam, off the N7. It is actually an alternative route ...
Pakhuis Pass
The drive from Clanwilliam to Wuppertal in the Cederberg, the incredible wild and mountainous region that attracts hikers and lies roughly three ...
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