Cango Caves (South Africa)

I visited Cango Caves in Oudtshoorn, South Africa, in January 2010 when I was visiting South Africa (for the second time) with my sister. We were driving from Cape Town to George and so we were looking for places to stop off along the way - and as we were driving through Oudtshoorn then Cango Caves seemed like a good place to make a scheduled stop. What are the Cango Caves The Cango Caves are a series of limestone show caves that have been known and celebrated in Oudtshoorn since the Stone Age - and have been a place for tourist to visit the 1800's (although I'm sure it wasn't as developed as ... more

The Cango Caves were one of my highlights of my holiday in South Africa. They are situated just outside the Western Cape town of Oudtshoorn in the Klein Karoo region. The caves apparently began forming 20 million years ago, but the stalactites and stalagmites didn't grow until three million years ago. Although ancient man had used the caves they were re-discovered in 1780 by a Dutch farmer looking for his missing flock. It became South Africa's first tourist attraction and is still one of the most popular today. The caves are open every day except Christmas Day and they run two types of tour ... more

Thousands of years ago, an intrepid tribe of KhoiSan people wandered through the arid plains of South Africa’s Little Karoo region, taking shelter in a large cave entrance. Many centuries later, in 1780, a colonial farmer ventured past the cave entrance and lowered himself into the unknown darkness. From the muffled echo of his uneasy voice he sensed a cavern of breathtaking proportions, and by the dim light of a burning torch saw glistening mounds and crystal-like shapes that hinted at a subterranean wonderland. So began the human history of one of the oldest natural attractions in ... more