Hiking excursion up Paarl Mountain Reserve in Cape Town

The Meulwater Wild Flower Reserve has an impressive diversity of about 68 indigenous plants in a condensed area of 9 hectare. You can only appreciate the size of these huge granite domes (estimated to be about 530 million years old) by climbing them and walking around them.

They have been compared in majesty to Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock) in Australia however, they are not geologically similar. Paarl Rock is granite, while Uluru is sandstone.

Route Description
The tour starts with a walk through the Meulwater Wild Flower Reserve where visitors can get a sense of the impressive variety of plants in Paarl Nature Reserve.

After a visit to the Wild Flower Garden we cross the Meulwater picnic area to ascend Paarl Rock (543m /1781ft). Here you'll visit the historical old cannon and explore the top of Paarl rock.

You'll continue the hike and walk to Gordon and Bretagne Rocks. You can access the top of Bretagne Rock (649m/2129ft) with the help of a chain walkway. On a clear day you're rewarded with astounding views from the survey Beacon on Bretagne Rock of the Drankenstein Valley, False Bay and Table Mountain and as far as Riebeeck-Kasteel Mountain!

You'll then descend and walk with another boardwalk made from recycled plastic through an indigenous forest. A total of 4071kg recycled plastic was used to produce these boards.

You'll follow the footpath between the domes and carry onto Christmas Camp for a well-deserved rest under the old wild olive trees. From here you'll walk back to the start of the hike via Nantes dam.

Altitude start: 427m (14001ft)
Highest point reached: 649m (2129ft) above sea level
Distance: approx. 7 km
Rating: Moderate
Time: Between 4-5 hours