Leopards Kloof - Harold Porter

Leopards Kloof - Harold Porter
Leopards Kloof is a beautiful day walk that starts at the Harold Porter Botanical Gardens. It works its way up the kloof to a spectacular series of waterfalls. It features a beautiful montane forest, rocks and river vegetation. It finishes up a series of ladders, which need to be negotiated with care, but almost everyone can do them. Its final pool is a spectacular spot, with rounded cliff faces, meeting together at a waterfall. A beautiful spot, best enjoyed alone, if at all possible

This walk is controlled by the staff of Harold Porter Gardens, and you need to tell them that you want to do it and pay the deposit for the key to get through the gate into the area. This you do when you pay your entrance fee to enter into the gardens. There is no real cost for the hike, just a deposit to assure that you return the key. A limited amount of keys are available so its important to arrive early to get one of them, especially over weekends and the holiday season.

This area has another beautiful creature to find, and you do not have to be scared of them, as they are not poisonous and are small, and that is water snakes. I have observered them a few times in this river and they are a delight to see. They are constrictors and are known to feed on frogs and are not mu ch thicker than a finger. Other delights of this region are the Olive Woodpeckers that are sometimes heard and seen in the forest.

This is really a beautiful walk, not too difficult, out and back, and has some attractive waterfalls in a forested setting, which is rare to find in the Cape. It is well worth doing.

There is a restaurant in the nature reserve, for a cuppa after a good walk.
A PDF is available below for downloading to provide you with full details on how to get to this incredible place, along with MAPS and interesting facts about the region.

Driving and Safety

How far do your drive?

App 1.5hr from Cape Town.

Get Actual Distance/Time

Driving Difficulty?

Tar all the way, no difficult or dangerous inclines or road

Personal Safety

Extremely low risk

Parking

Privately owned area or park. Considered safe

How wild, beautiful and Spectacular

How Unknown?

20 % of the hiking population know this place

How Wild?

The wildness of this area is ranked 8/10

How Spectacular?

Extremely Spectacular

How beautiful?

Not really Beautiful

Walking and Danger

How Tough

Easy - Flat, or up to 100m-200m eg Contour Path at Newlands

Time it takes one direction, no stopping

1 hr Half Day, Low fitness . Allow 4 hours+ for this walk.

Path Quality

Path is 100% planked, on a platform, could almost be done in a wheelchair

No Path whatsover

0% is not a path at all.

Exposure?

The path is narrow, can be walked easily but near a cliff edge

Rock Scrambling

Hands are only used 10% of the time. Anyone could do it

Suitable for 9-11 yrs old?

Risky

All our walks/hikes/explorations are not suitable for less than 9 year olds. 12 years old plus generally can cope with a lot with the right encouragement.

Download the PDF to get...

Detailed instructions on how to get there
A Map Layout
Hints and tips about the area