The Cango Caves

Cango Caves

The KhoiSan used the Cango Caves thou­sands of years ago as shel­ter but nobody else real­ized the beauty under the lime­stone ledge until the curi­os­ity of a farmer in 1780 made him lower him­self into the caves to invest­ig­ate. For the first time his dim torch showed an awe­some splend­our that still takes the breath away today as count­less people make the pil­grim­age to the caves each year.

The Cango Caves can be found about 26 kilo­metres north of the town of Oudtshoorn, which lies in the heart of the Little Karoo. In the last cen­tury the caves have become world renowned not only with South Africans but with inter­na­tional tour­ists as well, who visit the Cango Caves in droves. Giggling groups of school chil­dren visit the caves as part of their cur­riculum and dare each other to go through the Devil’s Chimney, a rather tight pas­sage in the caves and to be pos­ted down the Devil’s Post box that is only 27 cen­ti­metres wide.

For me, simply stand­ing in Van Zyl’s cham­ber star­ing at the stalag­mites, stalac­tites and helic­tites takes my breath away. There is so much to see, whether you choose the stand­ard tour or the adven­ture tour, you are in for an exper­i­ence that leaves you feel­ing humble. You will wander through cham­bers with whim­sical names such as Rainbow Chamber, Bridal Chamber and Fairy Chamber and stand in silent awe as you look upon the trans­lu­cent form­a­tions in the Drum Room.

For those of intrepid spirit the adven­ture tour starts in the Grand Hall, then through the aptly named Lumbago Alley and King Solomon’s Mines. From there you squeeze through the Devil’s Chimney, go through the Coffin, down to the Devil’s Kitchen and finally hold­ing your breath, you post your­self through the Devil’s Post box amidst shrieks of laughter and often lots of groan­ing and puffing.

The Cango Caves com­plex is well run with an Interpretive Centre and Auditorium that explains the how and the why of the splen­did form­a­tions of the caves to vis­it­ors. Continuous movies and exhib­i­tions give a well-prepared over­view and you can watch a short movie that gives you glimpses of the won­ders of Cango 2 that is not open to the pub­lic to pre­serve the form­a­tions and have even more glor­i­ous sights than Cango 1. The Cango Caves res­taur­ant offers great food in the true Klein Karoo tra­di­tion for tired vis­it­ors after their grand exper­i­ence through the caves.

Cango Caves Telephone Number: +27 (0)44 272‑7410

Useful Links:
More des­tin­a­tion inform­a­tion at:
Cango Caves Information
Cango Caves Tours
Overnight at Oudtshoorn Accommodation