Hot Springs in the Western Cape

Hot Springs

Hot springs have long been known to have bene­fi­cial effects on health, as well as a relax­ing, reju­ven­at­ing way to while away time. High in nat­ural min­er­als due to geo­thermal activ­it­ies deep below the ground, which causes the water that bubbles up through the earth to be heated, their waters are thought to provide phys­ical bene­fits to the skin. Whatever the sci­entific reason, there is no doubt that the warm, cocoon­ing sen­sa­tion of the water has a def­in­ite impact on one's over­all feel­ing of wellbeing!

The Western Cape area is for­tu­it­ously dot­ted with these springs and in many cases resorts and spas have sprung up around these nat­ural wonders.

Closest to Cape Town at around an hour and a half drive is along the N2 high­way at Caledon, another nat­ural spring bubbles up from below the ground. While the spring has been used by indi­gen­ous peoples for thou­sands of years, it was first dis­covered by west­ern­ers when the Dutch explored the area in the late 17^th cen­tury, although the town was only foun­ded around a cen­tury after this ini­tial dis­cov­ery. Over the years, many, camp­ing, resort and spa devel­op­ments came and went from around these springs but they are now the site of the Caledon Hotel, Casino and Spa, a hotel development.

In the oppos­ite dir­ec­tion, on the way to the small town of Montagu, lies another fam­ous spring and resort com­plex, Goudini Spa. Located just before Worcester in the beau­ti­ful Breede River Valley, the resort offers accom­mod­a­tion, leis­ure activities,and, of course, the hot springs. The town has become world-famous for its hot springs, with as many as 20 springs con­cen­trated in this area, some reach­ing tem­per­at­ures of up to 42 degrees Celsius. And unlike some sul­fur springs, the waters are soft and sweet smelling. Local lore has it that a set­tler of the area had injured his hand when an ox wagon wheel ran over it, but that after dip­ping his hand in the heal­ing waters, it healed much more rap­idly than expec­ted. This, and cer­tainly other such tales, has led to the areas repu­ta­tion for heal­ing waters. Several small hotel and resort facil­it­ies have developed in the area, and vis­it­ors to the area have a bou­quet of options to choose from.

Another nat­ural spring and resort com­plex in the pic­tur­esque town of Citrusdal, situ­ated on the N7 around two hours drive from Cape Town is The Baths. Originally foun­ded in 1739, and owned by the same fam­ily since 1903, the baths are com­pli­men­ted by 15 self cater­ing chalets, cara­van and camp­ing facil­it­ies, and vari­ous activ­it­ies such as ten­nis, hik­ing trails, moun­tain bik­ing and bird­watch­ing, along with a res­taur­ant, this is another good choice for those wish­ing to get away from it all.

Useful Links:
Western Cape Attractions
Western Cape Accommodation