Attraction Guide: Cango Caves, Plettenberg Bay, South Africa

Cango Caves Guide

Journey to the Center of the Earth: Explore the Cango Caves Guide

The Cango Caves, located in the foothills of the Swartberg Mountains near Oudtshoorn in South Africa's Garden Route, are a spectacular network of underground caverns renowned for their impressive stalactite and stalagmite formations. These caves are one of the country's most popular tourist attractions, offering visitors a chance to explore a fascinating subterranean world sculpted by nature over millions of years. The caves have a long history, with evidence of human occupation dating back to the Early Stone Age. However, the first documented discovery of the caves by Europeans was in 1780. Over the centuries, the caves have been explored and developed for tourism, with guided tours becoming a popular activity. The caves are divided into different chambers, each with its own unique features and formations, such as "Cleopatra's Needle," "The Bridal Chamber," and "The Devil's Kitchen." Visitors can choose from different tour options, including the standard tour, which explores the larger chambers and provides information about the caves' history and geology, and the adventure tour, which involves crawling and squeezing through narrower passages. The caves are also home to a variety of cave-dwelling creatures, including bats and insects. While Oudtshoorn is known for its ostrich farms, the Cango Caves don't have a specific culinary tradition associated with them. However, the town of Oudtshoorn offers a variety of restaurants serving local and international cuisine, including ostrich meat dishes.