29km from Oudtshoorn, at the head of the picturesque Cango Valley, lies the spectacular underground wonder of the Klein Karoo - the Cango Caves. Situated in a limestone ridge parallel to the well known Swartberg Mountains - the finest dripstone caverns, with vast halls and towering formations.
Common myth has it that the Caves were first explored by a local farmer named Jacobus van Zyl (after whom the first chamber, van Zyl's Hall, was named) – although research fails to reveal anybody by that name in the Cango area in the 1770's. And besides – it's now understood that the Caves have been known to man since the Early Stone Age.
A depiction of the small bushmen that originally occupied the first cave - they didn't go any further into the system because they believed the spirits of the ancestors occupied the deeper levels.
One thing that defines these caves is the fact that you are able to explore a system that was originally formed over millenia by flowing water. The Caves are now in side the mountain range that is above ground level after the land has risen over millenia. This area now receives only approx 275mm of rain per year - usually in one/two weeks!!
Here are some shots from various parts of the system on the standard tour . . .
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