Five dedicated MTB routes through a 34,000-hectare UNESCO Ramsar World Heritage reserve — limestone jeep tracks past bontebok, Cape mountain zebra, eland and baboons, with southern right whales breaching offshore in season. De Hoop is the most biodiverse cycling destination in the Western Cape.
South Africa’s legendary 96km gravel epic from the Klein Karoo to the Indian Ocean via Prince Alfred’s Pass — 93% gravel, 1,800m of climbing, and a jaw-dropping descent through the Knysna Forest. Run annually by the Lions Clubs of Uniondale and Knysna since 1999, with all proceeds to charity.
A free 64km gravel loop through the Breede River Valley wine country — flat and fast on public gravel roads past vineyards, orchards, the Breede River and the Langeberg foothills. Rated 4.5/5 by riders, the Bonnievale Circular is the perfect introduction to Breede River Valley gravel riding.
35km of 4×4 track MTB through the Klein Koperberge granite peaks and desert plains of Namaqualand — quiver trees, halfmens succulents, Hartmann’s mountain zebra and a carpet of wildflowers in spring (August-September). Home terrain of the Namaqua Quest MTB Stage Race.
The historic copper mining heartland of Namaqualand — trails through the rugged landscape that produced South Africa’s first commercial copper mine in 1685, now reimagined as MTB terrain through the Namaqua Quest event. Quiver tree groves, springbok herds and mine heritage combine for a uniquely Northern Cape riding experience.
The most arid national park in South Africa — Tankwa Karoo’s 50km Buitekring MTB circuit, Gannaga Pass gravel adventure and open desert flats deliver remote, self-sufficient gravel riding through a landscape of big Karoo skies, succulent fynbos and extraordinary stillness. Home to some of the darkest night skies in the Southern Hemisphere.
A full-day 60km expert gravel challenge combining the Tankwa park road network with the notorious Ouberg Pass climb — a sustained and brutal ascent from the Tankwa basin to the Roggeveld plateau that features in international bikepacking expeditions and is considered one of the hardest climbs accessible to cyclists in the Northern Cape.
One of the most remote cycling destinations in South Africa — the Richtersveld is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a mountain desert that has never been permanently settled, where quiver tree forests, river canyon landscapes and the Orange River border form an extraordinary but extreme bikepacking environment for self-sufficient expert riders.
The quiver tree (kokerboom) concentrations of the Richtersveld mountain desert are among the most spectacular in southern Africa — this remote adventure cycling route between Lekkersing, Eksteenfontein and Sendelingsdrift traverses a UNESCO World Heritage landscape where the Orange River forms the international border and the halfmens succulents face permanently toward the north.
The heart of the Green Kalahari — MTB trails through a lunar landscape of granite gorges, quiver trees and the 60m Augrabies Falls on the Orange River. Host to the annual Trans Augrabies MTB and Gravel Stage Race (172km over 2 days, 300 riders), rated by Rough Guides as a top-10 adventure destination.