Karoo

The Karoo is divided into Little and Great Karoo. The mountains of Little Karoo lie between Cape Town and the Garden Route. The area is renowned for its many ostriches and its spectacular landscapes, which includes numerous ravines known as kloofs. Depending on the time of day, the weather and your distance to the mountains, their color seems to change. The peaks of Swartruggens, Komsberge, Hantamsberg, Nuwelveldberge, Groot Swartberge, Sneeuberg, Bankberg and Grootwinterberg are all over 1500 meters high. Many of the mountains have the typical Karoo shape, flat-topped and sheer-sided dolerite koppies. There are many colorful wild flowers and the climate is usually dry and sunny. Especially in the summer it can get very hot. During the winter, snow is not unknown in the higher parts of the mountains.

The word 'Karoo' derived from the indiginous word ǃ’Aukarob (Hardveld). It is a semi-desert region, becoming more sparse when going northwards in the direction of the Kalahari Desert.

Most people stay in the region's tourist capital of Oudtshoorn. Other interesting towns in the region include Beaufort West, Graaff-Reinet and Montagu.