Glimpses of Montagu: One of the most attractive mountain towns in the Klein Karoo

You might feel the traveller’s urge to yell with glee as you pass through 16 metres of quartzite sandstone, because the open road, with all its joys and adventures, lies waiting, listening for the approaching hum of your tyres on the blacktop.

It’s time for fun.

Back in 1873, however, there wasn’t much fun available in the riverine rocklands of Cogmanskloof. Thomas Bain and 32 chaps of varying skillsets had to build a new road along the habitually flooded Kingna River through the kloof, pack dry stone walling at a number of spots, and fashion that tunnel you just drove through, at a place called Turkey Ridge – Kalkoenkrantz.

It took Bain & Co four years to complete the job, during which time they blasted the tunnel open with gunpowder and a newfangled explosive called dynamite, manually hauled away many tons of rock, and built those incredible retaining walls that still do the job 150 years later.

You could drive your team of oxen through the five-metre-wide tunnel, as long as their horns weren’t insanely long. As a Montagu farmer, you could now whisk your luscious fruit to the markets of Cape Town in record time. Travelling pedlars (smouse) finally had easy access to the vast plains of the hinterland, accompanied at every step by the regal Swartberg ranges, all the way to the hustling feather markets of Oudtshoorn.

Thomas Bain’s hole in the wall connected the Mother City with what was known as Kannaland – the Klein Karoo. This 350km stretch of highway, its dramatic mountain passes and its many backroads have been the dusty weekend playground of space-strapped Capetonians ever since Cogmanskloof was cleared by the man with the theodolite eyes.

Modern-day Montagu

Montagu is a popular mountain climbing destination, as it lies surrounded by the Langeberge. Hikers and rock climbers from everywhere come to Montagu, to take on the various routes bearing names that include Eggs and Bacon, the Gospel Express, Nuclear Waste, Wildcard, Thruster, Daze of Thunder, the Dog Bowl, the Bold and the Beautiful, Eagle’s Folly Buttress, Buttock Buttress and Cool Like That.

The town’s layout is gracious, with the Cape Dutch and Victorian-era architecture well preserved. Restaurants, cafés, hot springs, museums and the exquisite Art Deco-style Montagu Country Hotel make up a strong element of the local tourism appeal.

Modern farming techniques and agritourism have become increasingly prominent in and around Montagu, allowing visitors to experience farm life, wine tasting, and local produce markets. This blend of agriculture and tourism has strengthened the town’s economic resilience.

Since the Covid-19 year of 2020, the town has seen an influx of semigrants who have relocated their lifestyles to the country and their businesses to the online realm. Creatives, retirees and digital nomads come to live here and contribute to the already-vibrant local community.

Montagu has a strong tourism body and an excellent festival calendar, where locals and visitors come face to face over a glass of muscadel and a meal.

To cap it all, there appear to be positive vibes between civil society and local municipal authorities, as confirmed by PJ Basson, the owner of the Montagu Country Hotel: “We have a very good relationship with our municipality, which includes a phone app you can report faults on. These faults are then soon tended to.”

As a result, Montagu looks clean and healthy, and people like to visit such places. DM

Klein Karoo Magic (390 pages, full colour) by Chris Marais and Julienne du Toit was released in May, 2026. To order your author-signed first edition copy (R400 including SA courier service), email Julie at julie@karoospace.co.za