Less than an hour north of Cape
Town in the Winelands, Paarl is a beautiful old town dominated by a huge granite
pluton that, after rain, gleams like a pearl, and from which the town gets its
name. (The Dutch word for pearl is paarl.) Paarl has one of the longest main
roads in the country – at about 11km – and it’s lined with some lovely
old buildings.
For a bit of a historical flashback you could visit the Afrikaans Language
Museum or even drive up to the Afrikaans Language Monument – a monstrous hilltop
structure that’s visible for miles. It’s an interesting place to visit and,
whatever you think of the motivation of its construction, there’s a lovely view
from up there.
But you’d be more likely to visit Paarl for wine. There are numerous lovely
wineries, some of which also make home made cheeses and
liqueur brandy. Olive farms produce olive oil and
various varieties of bottled olives and Paarl is filled with lovely
restaurants.
For the more active, there is an excellent paragliding launch site off
Paarl Rock, which also offers excellent granite
climbing and some fun rambles. You could ride
up the back of Paarl Mountain, do a wine tasting horse trail,
or even trundle through the vineyards in a horse-drawn cart. In
summer there are early morning hot air balloon flights. |
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