Why this ride
A named mountain-road corridor with sustained elevation change and pass scenery. It links naturally to Langeberg Mountains.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Tradouw Pass
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 47 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 50 min
- 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
Route 62
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 7 km this is Route 62, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 7 km
- Named road
- Route 62
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Swellendam
Swellendam is the third-oldest town in South Africa, and it wears its age with an easy dignity. The Dutch East India Company established a magistracy here in 1743, and the settlement grew up under the Langeberg mountains, which stand along the north side of the town like a blue wall. In 1795, discontented local farmers declared a short-lived republic, with their own flag and officials, which lasted only a few months before the British arrived. The old Drostdy, the magistrate's residence and offices, is now a museum, its thatched roof and white gables intact.
Read the complete Swellendam write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Swellendam sits at 0 km, early in the day. Next is Tradouw Pass.
2. Tradouw Pass
The Tradouw Pass is a short, pretty road, and it has a good claim to being the best-surfaced mountain road in the Cape. It slices through the Langeberg mountains for a few kilometres between Swellendam and the Little Karoo, following the Tradouw river as it cuts a narrow gorge through red and orange rock. The name is said to come from Khoi words meaning pass of the women, though the exact meaning is debated, and the road was engineered in the 1870s by Thomas Bain, son of the more famous Andrew Bain, who built so many of the great Cape passes.
Read the complete Tradouw Pass write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Tradouw Pass comes up 17 km in. Next is Barrydale.
3. Barrydale
The R62 through Barrydale is a road of long distances and small surprises. The town is a modest place, sitting in the Little Karoo between the Langeberg and the Swartberg ranges, a few tidy streets, a main road, and a population of a few thousand. It was founded as a farming settlement, and its economy still depends on fruit, olives, sheep and now, increasingly, on travellers on Route 62 who stop for a meal and some air.
Read the complete Barrydale write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
47 km in you reach Barrydale.
Recorded source links
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Route 62 · part 1 · 861 km
- Route 62 South Africa: Montagu to Oudtshoorn · 500 km
- Cape Route 62 · 238 km
- Route 62 South Africa · 782 km