Why this ride
A named mountain-road corridor with sustained elevation change and pass scenery. It links naturally to Cape Fold Mountains.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Du Toitskloof Pass
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 60 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 02
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Editorial context
Coordinates are curated start-via-end route seeds. They are not a surveyed centreline or navigation geometry. Run road snapping, topology checks, access checks and a live-status review before publication.
Access context
Do not auto-publish. Snap to a routable road network, verify current closures, legal motorcycle access, surface, permits, border controls and local safety information.
Seasonal context
Sep-Apr
Scenic road chapters
Bainskloof Pass
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 17 km this is Bainskloof Pass, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 17 km
- Named road
- Bainskloof Pass
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Paarl
Paarl is named after a rock. In 1657, an explorer saw a huge granite dome glistening after rain and called it the Pearl, and the town grew up beneath it, along the Berg River at the heart of the Cape winelands. The Paarl Rock, which locals say is one of the largest granite outcrops in the world, rises above the valley in a smooth grey whaleback, and you can walk or drive up to its base for views over vineyards and the distant peaks of the Drakenstein range.
Read the complete Paarl write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Paarl sits at 0 km, early in the day. Next is Du Toitskloof Pass.
2. Du Toitskloof Pass
For decades, every vehicle crossing from Cape Town to the interior had to climb the Du Toitskloof Pass, and there are drivers who still talk of the queues and the fog. In the late 1980s, a long tunnel was bored under the mountain on the N1 highway, and the old road was given up to riders, cyclists and anyone prepared to spend a little more time. It is now one of the quietest great roads in the Cape, with the traffic thundering through the tunnel below.
Read the complete Du Toitskloof Pass write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Du Toitskloof Pass comes up 24 km in. Next is Worcester.
3. Worcester
Worcester, in the Western Cape, is the largest town in the Breede River Valley and the traditional beginning of the Route 62 for many travellers, a place of about a hundred and twenty-seven thousand people at the foot of the Hex River Mountains. It sits at the edge of the Cape winelands and it feels it. Vineyards climb the slopes behind the town, irrigated fields spread across the valley floor, and the peaks above turn pink and purple at sunset. In winter they carry snow, a surprise to anyone who thinks of South Africa as permanently warm.
Read the complete Worcester write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
60 km in you reach Worcester.
Recorded source links
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Route 62 South Africa: Cape Town to Montagu · 451 km
- Bainskloof Pass · 42 km
- Bainskloof Pass starting at Wellington · 75 km
- Franschhoek Pass · 32 km