Muscadel and potjiekos in Montagu

Montagu

The small town of Montagu is loc­ated on the fam­ous Route 62 within the Klein Karoo region of the Cape. With less than 10 000 per­man­ent inhab­it­ants it non­ethe­less has much to offer the vis­itor. Famed for its hot springs, the town in fact offers an abund­ance of other activ­it­ies and exper­i­ences from adren­aline filled sports such as rock climb­ing to more cul­tured activ­it­ies such as wine tast­ing, and just about everything in between.

The Montagu Market held every Saturday morn­ing in the park oppos­ite the tour­ism bur­eau offers a sampling of local arts, crafts and cuisine, and an oppor­tun­ity to meet and mingle with the friendly locals.

Another local legend in the mak­ing is the tractor trip and potjiekos lunch, in oper­a­tion since 1985, where vis­it­ors are taken by tractor and trailer to the sum­mit of a local moun­tain, and, after admir­ing the view of the town and sur­round­ing farm­lands, are able to sample two local spe­cial­ties: Muscadel and potjiekos ...

Montagu

For the adven­tur­ous, there are numer­ous rock climb­ing options in the area, for climbers of every abil­ity, from com­plete novices, to the more accom­plished, includ­ing those loc­ated on the De Bos guest farm, which also offers guided climbs, equip­ment rental and abseiling. 

Another option for the adven­tur­ous is quad bik­ing, or 4 x 4 trails. Take in the scenery, view the wild­life and enjoy the unspoilt beauty of the Langeberg moun­tains from the back of an all ter­rain bike, or the more com­fort­able interior of a 4 x 4 vehicle. (See Things to Do in Montagu). For the golf­ing enthu­si­ast, there’s no need to leave your clubs at home. Montague boasts a nine hole course, with another loc­ated in nearby Bonnievale.

With a Wild Flower reserve, and sev­eral nature reserves, farms and game farms to explore in the area, the nature lover is spoilt for choice, and know­ledge­able staff on hand at the local tour­ism bur­eau will help you find just where to go to see the most spec­tac­u­lar scenery, or to find the rarer and more elu­sive bird and animal species.

Aside from the unspoilt nature reserves how­ever, Montagu is a farm­ing com­munity with orch­ards and vine­yards abound­ing. This agri­cul­tural and vit­i­cul­tural her­it­age has led to the cre­ation of the dried fruit tour, as well as sev­eral winer­ies that open their cel­lar doors to the visitor.

Ravenna Retreat

For the his­tory buff, Montagu offers many attrac­tions, des­pite it’s rel­at­ively short his­tory, hav­ing been foun­ded only in the 1700’s. In Long Street, there are no less than 14 his­tor­ical monu­ments, now private res­id­ences, which can be viewed when tak­ing a stroll or per­haps a visit to the Parsonage in Rose Street, or the old English Fort just out­side town.

Also on offer are tours of Joubert house, the old­est local dwell­ing, or the Montagu Museum, which chron­icles local history.

When it comes to cuisine, there seems to be just as much vari­ety, from tra­di­tional, to pub lunches, a la carte to bis­tro style, the dozen of so eat­er­ies within the town are assured to have some­thing to suit every taste and budget, as does the accom­mod­a­tion in Montagu, ran­ging from camp­ing to gues­t­houses, and everything in between.

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For more des­tin­a­tion inform­a­tion please see:
Montagu Attractions
Things to Do in Montagu
Montagu Accommodation
Western Cape Accommodation