A rock hyrax lies on red rock beside the Cliff Path, the bright sea behind it

What to see · Cliff

Cliff Path

A path that never gets more than a few metres from the water. Fynbos and milkwood trees on one side, the bay on the other, and in season the whales come to you rather than the other way round.

The Cliff Path starts at the New Harbour in the west and ends twelve kilometres east at Grotto Beach. Between them lie the Old Harbour, Gearing's Point, the coves at Fick's Pool and Kwaaiwater, and the beaches of Langbaai, Kammabaai and Voëlklip. The path is level almost everywhere, part paved and part gravel, with benches every few hundred metres, and the stretches around the Old Harbour work with a wheelchair or a pushchair. Security patrols it by day. After dark you do not walk here.

New Harbour to Grotto Beach
12 km
no ticket, always open
free
for the full length
3 hours
whales from the path
June to November

You do not have to walk all of it. Most people take the section between the New Harbour and Kwaaiwater, three to four kilometres, and take their time over it. Walk the whole thing and you want three hours without stops, plus a taxi back from Grotto Beach. From June to November the path is one long viewpoint; the rest of the year it belongs to the dassies, the sunbirds in the fynbos and the surfers down in the coves.

A rock hyrax lies on red rock beside the Cliff Path, the bright sea behind it
Dassies, the rock hyraxes, belong to this path as much as the benches do.
Time needed
one to three hours
Cost
free
When
all year, whales from June to November
From the Old Harbour
right there

Our tipWalk west to east and you get the morning sun behind you and the bay in the light. Take water: between the Old Harbour and Voëlklip there is no shop on the path.

Cliff Path: common questions

How long is the Cliff Path, and how long does it take?

Twelve kilometres from the New Harbour to Grotto Beach, three hours without stops. Most people walk the section from the New Harbour to Kwaaiwater, three to four kilometres, and take their time.

Can you do the Cliff Path with a pushchair or a wheelchair?

Around the Old Harbour, yes: level, paved or gravel, with benches every few hundred metres. Further east there are sections with steps. Security patrols by day; after dark you do not walk here.

Does the Cliff Path charge admission?

No. The path is always open and needs no ticket. Take water with you, because between the Old Harbour and Voëlklip there is no shop along it.