Seweweekspoort — Ladismith Karoo GravelGorge.
Distance
90 km
Duration
1 day
Climb
700 m
Seweweekspoort — Ladismith Karoo Gravel Gorge.
One of South Africa's most spectacular gravel poorts. The Seweweekspoort cuts through a vertical fault in the Swartberg Mountains, twisting past towering folded-rock cliffs beneath Seweweekspoort Peak, the highest summit in the Western Cape. A well-graded but remote dirt road with over 200 bends and no services — pure Karoo drama.
Quick facts
SurfaceMixed
Distance90 km
Days1
Total climb700 m
DifficultyChallenging
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The route.
LadismithStart · Start below the cleft peak of Towerkop. Last reliable fuel, water and supplies before the gravel poort — fill the tank and carry water.
Seweweekspoort South EntranceScenic Point · Turn off the R62 onto the gravel road into the poort. The name means Seven Weeks Poort; the road threads a narrow fault with over 200 curves in 17km.
Seweweekspoort Peak ViewpointMountain Pass · Beneath Seweweekspoort Peak (2325m), the highest point in the Western Cape. Sheer folded rock strata rise vertically on both sides — a geological cathedral.
Bosluiskloof Northern ExitScenic Point · The poort opens onto the Klein Karoo plateau near the historic Bosluiskloof Pass. Vast silence, big sky and almost zero traffic.
LadismithEnd · Return through the poort to Ladismith. The shifting afternoon light makes the cliffs look completely different on the way back.
More routes in ZA WC
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