Whether you are an adventurous or not, Cango Caves Cape Town are worth visiting attraction of South Africa.The good news is, it does not require you to be an athlete or super skinny to crawl in these rocks rather, it’s like an activity that almost anyone can indulge in with ease. The caves offer both Standard (easy) and Adventure (for professional) tours.
So moving on, let me tell you that where these caves are located. If you are coming from George Airport, it’s about 90 kilometers from there. However, you will have to drive around 29 kilometers, if you are coming from Oudtshoorn up to the entrance of Cango Valley, where these wondrous limestone ridges are lying underground, opposite to the Swartberg Mountains. The caves offer spectacular rock formations; amazing dripstone caverns, vast halls, tall roofs and stone pillars carved by the best artist – Mother Nature.
The picturesque wonderland of South Africa, Cango Caves are famous as the eighth wonder. The various kinds of dripstone formation; in various colors and shapes are its most spectacular attribute. The stalagmites dripstones, which grow upward from the cave floor, the stalactites dripstones hanging down from the ceiling and needle like helictites dripstone, that grow in all directions form shapes and structure no less than nature’s abstract masterpiece. In 1929, the caves were illuminated with electric lights that complement the bright crystalline formations and natural colors of Cango.
A professional guide will accompany you on your tour to the caves. You can book a native English speaker guide or French, Afrikaans speaking but better check in advance if it’s any other language than English.
If it’s your first time going underground, opt for the Standard Tour. Standard tour is comparatively easy and the opening hours for this tour are from 09 am to 16:00 hours daily. One tour is for around 60 minutes, and tours depart nearly every hour until the closing time. The charges applicable are 64 ZAR for Adults and 32 ZAR for children, which if converted to GBP as per today’s rates is around 5.50 GBP for adults and 2.75 for children.
The adventure tours, are specifically for those who have tried it before or are ready to challenge the cave. The opening hour for Adventure tours is from 09:30 to 15:30 hours daily. For this one, tours leave every half hour and the duration is around 90 minutes. The rates are a bit higher than the standard, which is 80 ZAR for adults (6.88 GBP) and 50 ZAR for children (4.30 GBP).
Other things that you need to know, are that Cango Caves remain open 364 days a year and only shut down on December 25th, Christmas Holiday. The temperate below ground remain nearly constant throughout the year, at about 18°C or 67°F, therefore light clothing and comfortable footwear is suggested. Children under 12 should be accompanied by adults. Also, not to forget that there is no ATM or Petrol station near the caves, so if you are on your own it’s better to keep extra can of petrol.
The only restriction is for pregnant women, which is absolutely understood. The authorities also advice people with high blood pressure, claustrophobia or back ailments not to expose them self to such challenges.
For international travelers, direct flights to South Africa are available with the national carrier South African Airways (SA) that offers nonstop flights to Johannesburg as well as Cape Town from London Heathrow. Also, from Durban International Airport, domestic carrier offer short connection to Cape Town city, the home of Cango Caves, nature’s marvel
