Garden Route

The Garden Route (in Afrikaans, Tuinroete) is the name given to a 200km/125mi long stretch of National Highway 2 (N 2), which runs for a total distance of 2,000km/1,250mi, close to the coast of the Indian Ocean for most of the way, between Cape Town and Swaziland. The stretch of coast between Mossel Bay in the west and the mouth of the Storms River in the east is one of the classic South African tourist attractions, perhaps the most famous tourist route in the country. It is particularly busy in December and January.

The Garden Route runs along a narrow coastal terrace some 200m/650ft above sea level, with the Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma Mountains rising to 1,875m/6,150ft as a backdrop. It passes through luxuriant tropical and planted pine forests, often reaching down to the coast, and every now and then crosses wild rivers flowing down from the mountains, cutting deep gorges through the basement rocks and in flatter areas (as in Nature's Valley) forming beautiful lagoons.