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Mountain Pass Seweweekspoort Pass

ID: w128043 View large map

Located in South Africa :: Western Cape (Klein Karoo)
Category: Scenic Routes :: Mountain Pass

The Seweweekspoort pass was finished in 1862. The pass winds for 17 km through the Swartberg Mountains and crosses the Huis River 23 times, whilst the mountain slopes on both sides reach 1 500 m high in some places.

This is a beautiful road and a 'must-do' for any traveller. Folklore is full of stories on the origin of the name given to the Poort. Some say it took seven weeks for mounted troops to escort a gang of highway robbers having being banished from Barrydale, through the Poort.

Others say a stock thief hid for seven weeks before being arrested, others say it took seven weeks for a gang of brandy smugglers to return through the Poort from Beaufort West and another story is that a farmer in early times got lost in the mountain for seven weeks. Yet another explanation is that the Poort was named after a missionary from the Zoar / Amalienstein area, Reverend Louis Zerwick. The locals could not pronounce his name correctly and it was corrupted to 'sewenweeks'.

Contact
Address :  Scenic Cape Route 62, South Africa
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Travelling Information

The Seweweeks Poort is probably the most beautiful 17 km stretch of gravel road anywhere in South Africa.

With easy gradients, river crossings, mind-boggling geology, camping and self catering accommodation all packed into an almost perfect micro-climate, this road is an absolute joy to drive as it twists and turns through every angle of the compass, as it follows the contorted bends of the river.

It falls entirely under the control of Cape Nature Conservation and more specifically the Swartberg Nature Reserve. It is also a certified Unesco World Heritage Site. (Source: Mountain Passes South Africa).


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