Location

Few parts of southern Africa can match the Amatola mountains for scenic beauty. They form the eastern end of the great Cape coastal rampart, rising, on average, some 1,800 metres above sea level, their slopes densely mantled in lovely natural forests of yellowwoods, white stinkwoods,Cape chestnuts and a score and more other indigenous trees.

There are also plantations, and patches of high macchia and grasslands decorated with wild flowers. The prolific bird life includes Cape parrot, Knysna loerie and other forest species; the vistas are breathtaking.

The route leads from Bisho, the Eastern Cape provincial capital, in circular fashion (with two digressions) to and through small and for the most part charming towns.

Many of the settlements - including Adelaide, Balfour, Kieskammahoek, Cathcart, Fort Beaufort, Whittlesea and Seyomour - began life as military outposts, for it was into the Amatola's forested ravines that the Xhosa armies retreated after the setbacks of the 19th-century 'frontier wars'.

Stutterheim, beneath the Kologha range to the east, initially served as a settlement for disbanded soldiers of the British German Legion which had fought in the seventh of the eight confrontations (this was known as the 'War of the Axe').

Rather different in origin is Alice, founded (also in 1847) near the celebrated Lovedale Mission station and named after one of Queen Victoria's daughters. The university of Fort Hare, alma mater of many African leaders (including Nelson Mandela) made its appearance at Alice two decades later.

Hogsback also has a more peaceful history: it was built in the shadow of Fort Mitchell, whose garrison kept watch on the Xhosa stronghold below, but its first residents were farmers. Sada was born in fairly recent times as an 'industrial growth point'.

Highlights

• Hogsback One of the country's prettiest little villages, nestling among the trees of the mist-wreathed forested uplands - known formally as afromontane cloud forest - and original setting for J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbitt (Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, in 1892).
• Rambles along country lanes and fern-fringed paths will take you past clear mountain streams, cascades, giant old yellowwoods and hazelnuts, and patches of wild-growing azaleas, rhododendrons and daffodils.
• The waterfalls have evocative names - the Boiling Pot, the Bridal Veil, the Thirty-nine Steps, the Madonna and Child, the Swallowtail among them. The Hogsback itself is a trio on peaks that look rather like the dorsal parts of the bushpigs that snuffle around the dense undergrowth, though the name could have a more porsaic derivation (nearby Fort Mitchell was originally commanded by a Captain Hogg). The Xhosa know the place as uku-baleka, which likens one of the peaks to a woman carrying her child.
• Recommended are walks up the high Tor Doone (splendid views), the waterfall trails, and the stroll that takes you down Oak Avenue to an open-air forum and to St Patrick's-on-the-Hill, one of the southern hemisphere's smallest Christian churches. The local crafts (mainly carved clay figures) make nice keepsakes. Hotel, self-catering, guest-house and B&B accommodation available.
• Amatola hiking trail Arguably South Africa's top forest hike: it's strenuous, but each of the five days spent on the 105-kilometre route, from a point near King William's Town to Hogsback, brings its own interest and pleasure. There's breathtaking scenery all long the route. If the whole trail is too much for you, take one of the shorter segments; the 36-kilometre Zingcika Lopp, from Hogsback, is a pleasant option.
• Katberg pass On the R351 leading north from Balfour. The pass, which cuts through the Didima mountains of the Great Winterberg range to the Amatolas, is the highlight of a quite magnificent scenic drive. Dense trees and vegetation to either side create a tunnel of greenery in some parts; others open up stunning views of the Kat River valley below and the far hills beyond.

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AMATOLA MOUNTAINS

Location
Highlights



PROVINCES

Western Cape
Gauteng
Eastern Cape
Free State
Kwazulu Natal
Mpumalanga
Northern Cape
Northern
North West