Cango Caves, Eastern Cape, South Africa

In the Klein Karoo, parallel to the Swartberg Mountains on a limestone ridge you will find a spectacular underground wonder. If you take a 30km drive out of Oudtshoorn you will find the famous Cango Caves with some of the largest dripstone formations in the world.

These calcium carbonate deposits form stalactites and stalagmites in awe-inspiring formations in caverns with enormous halls. Some sections took millions of years to form and some of the caves are not open to the public but the main sections are open for investigative underground adventures that include crawling around on all fours to be able to explore everything that is available.

The stalagmite formations create an animated atmosphere and have been given names like ‘the bridal couple’, ‘weird cango candle’, ‘glass flower fantasy’, and ‘the hanging shawl’.

There are adventure tours such as climbing a steep ladder leading up to a small hole (Devil’s chimney), high above ground level. Then it leads one on a circular trip crawling on hands and knees to access some of the small chambers beyond. All tours are lead by experienced, knowledgeable and accredited Caves Guides.

They offer wheelchair friendly tours but some tours are not suitable for those who are pregnant, have back aliments, high blood pressure or who suffer from claustrophobia.