Closest Town: Montagu
Grading: Intermediate to difficult
Duration: 1–8 hours
Location (Area/Province):
Configuration: Circular and return options – up to 90km
Start Point: MontEco reception
Access: Access fee for vehicle and mountain bike – quite steep
Beware of: Extreme heat; dehydration, muddy conditions in winter
Facilities: Ablution facilities, camp site, self-catering cottages
Cell Reception: None
OVERVIEW
Ride your heart out in Mont Eco, a unique private nature reserve located in the mountains between Montagu and Barrydale. The area boasts an extensive network of eco-adventure trails winding through a rugged landscape of soaring rock formations and renosterveld slopes. Varied game and bird life, an abundance of fossils and diverse flora along the rough mountain roads ensure hours of entrancing riding.
On your bike
Ride options, mainly along the Mont Eco 4×4 eco-routes, include linear and circular trails up to 90 km in distance. Select your route according to your personal level of fitness and, if you’re up to it, you can pedal from dawn to dusk.
Challenging topography, harsh terrain and a range of surfaces from rocks and loose pebbles to sandy river beds will have you going head to head with nature. Extreme summer heat makes way for mud and flooding in winter when some of the steeper descents should be left to experienced riders.
Off the bike
Mont Eco offers bird-watching, game-viewing, 4×4 trials, hiking and a true get-back-to-nature experience within the wide open spaces of the Klein Karoo. Accommodation options include campsites and self catering cottages set within the reserve. The nearby town of Montagu boasts hiking trails, MTB routes, a dried fruit co-op, sumptuous hot springs, great climbing routes, fascinating museums and information on indigenous healing herbs.
CONTACT:
Route information: Tom Lewis, Mont Eco Nature Reserve
Address: PO Box 456,Montagu, 6720
Telephone: 028 572 1922 or 0800 628 873
Email: info@monteco-nature-reserve.com
Website: www.monteco-nature-reserve.com
For area information: contact Montagu Tourism, tel: +27 23 614 2471
GPS: 33°43’48.36”S 20°25’37.2”E
