Big Hole
Although the R50 million that turned the Big Hole into a world-class tourist destination came from De Beers, touring the world’s largest hand-dug hole…
Northern Cape
With only a million people inhabiting its 373,000 sq km, the Northern Cape is South Africa’s last great frontier. Its scattered towns are hundreds of kilometres apart, connected by empty roads across the sublime, surreal wilderness expanses of Namakwa, the Kalahari and Upper Karoo. Under the remorseless sun, vehicles share park roads with lions, dune boards swish down roaring sands, and Kimberley’s pubs serve cold beer as they have since the 19th-century diamond rush.
It’s a raw, elemental land, where gnarly camel thorn, quiver and Halfmens trees break the boundless horizons. Yet some of nature’s greatest tricks here are instances of rejuvenating beauty. The Gariep (Orange) River waters the dry region, creating the Green Kalahari with its vineyards and epic Augrabies Falls. Following the rains, red Kalahari sands shimmer with grasses, and Namakwa’s spring blooming carpets rocky hills and plains with wildflowers.
Explore Northern Cape
- Big Hole
Although the R50 million that turned the Big Hole into a world-class tourist destination came from De Beers, touring the world’s largest hand-dug hole…
- Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
Welcome to the African safari of your childhood daydreams. Packs of entertaining meerkats scurry across the sand, antelopes wander the dry river beds…
- AAugrabies Falls National Park
The centrepiece of this park is the 56m-high waterfall created when the Gariep (Orange) River thunders through a ravine. The nearby Bridal Veil Falls drop…
- ||Ai-|Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park
South Africa’s remotest national park presents a barren but undeniably striking landscape filled with weird rock formations and sandy moonscapes dotted…
- WWildebeest Kuil Rock Art Centre
On a site owned by the !Xun and Khwe San people, who were relocated from Angola and Namibia in 1990, this small sacred hill has 400-plus rock engravings…
- William Humphreys Art Gallery
One of the country’s best public galleries, with changing exhibitions of contemporary South African work, as well as a surprisingly good collection of…
- MMokala National Park
Mokala is a land of grassy plains studded with rocky hills and indigenous camel thorn trees (Tswana for the latter is 'mokala'). The species of tree is an…
- NNamaqua National Park
Your experience at Namaqua National Park depends a lot on when you visit. From October to July it's an extremely quiet place to hike or spot birds against…
- MMcGregor Museum
This comprehensive museum warrants a visit of an hour or two. It covers the Second Anglo-Boer War and South Africa's role in WWI. The star though is the…
Top attractions
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Northern Cape.
See
Big Hole
Although the R50 million that turned the Big Hole into a world-class tourist destination came from De Beers, touring the world’s largest hand-dug hole…
See
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
Welcome to the African safari of your childhood daydreams. Packs of entertaining meerkats scurry across the sand, antelopes wander the dry river beds…
See
Augrabies Falls National Park
The centrepiece of this park is the 56m-high waterfall created when the Gariep (Orange) River thunders through a ravine. The nearby Bridal Veil Falls drop…
See
|Ai-|Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park
South Africa’s remotest national park presents a barren but undeniably striking landscape filled with weird rock formations and sandy moonscapes dotted…
See
Wildebeest Kuil Rock Art Centre
On a site owned by the !Xun and Khwe San people, who were relocated from Angola and Namibia in 1990, this small sacred hill has 400-plus rock engravings…
See
William Humphreys Art Gallery
One of the country’s best public galleries, with changing exhibitions of contemporary South African work, as well as a surprisingly good collection of…
See
Mokala National Park
Mokala is a land of grassy plains studded with rocky hills and indigenous camel thorn trees (Tswana for the latter is 'mokala'). The species of tree is an…
See
Namaqua National Park
Your experience at Namaqua National Park depends a lot on when you visit. From October to July it's an extremely quiet place to hike or spot birds against…
See
McGregor Museum
This comprehensive museum warrants a visit of an hour or two. It covers the Second Anglo-Boer War and South Africa's role in WWI. The star though is the…
Guidebooks
Learn more about Northern Cape
Uncover the heart of travel and be inspired to see new sights with one of Lonely Planet’s in-depth, award-winning guidebooks.