Seven days deep into one of the Cederberg’s most unspoilt corners.
Wild camping across six nights
Developed with help of the Wupperthal community
Wupperthal sits so far into the Cederberg that locals still call it the jewel of the mountains, and after a few days on foot you’ll understand why. The Wupperthal100 is the longest of our three routes here: seven days, six nights, 100 km, developed with special permission from the Wupperthal community and first run in 2025 as a combination of our Wupperthal66 and Wupperthal Cedar Trail routes.
You’ll visit the Heuningvlei Nursery, sleep near a cedar plantation, hike past rock art tucked into overhangs that most visitors never find, be awestruck by the honorary arch the locals call Ereboog and go down into valleys where families still farm the way their grandparents did. It’s slack-pack hiking, so your tent and gear travel ahead of you by vehicle each day. Bring good boots and a reasonable level of fitness.
Highlights
- Ereboog, the honorary rock arch that locals will tell you is one of the most beautiful spots on earth
- San rock paintings, some barely known outside the local community
- A visit to the Heuningvlei cedar nursery, with the chance to plant a sapling as part of the restoration project
- Natural swimming pools and a perennial river you can dip into along the way
- Locally brewed Rooibos ginger beer at Martiensrus camp, served nowhere else
- A finish at the historic Moravian mission church in Wupperthal, founded in 1830, with the local brass band waiting
- Slack-pack format: your luggage travels by vehicle, you carry a daypack
Seven days, 100 km, one mountain range that barely sees a footprint.
Arrival & welcome, Drakie Camp
Arrive at Drakie Camp. A rock formation shaped as a dragon watches over camp, which is how it got its name, and Rooibos plantations shelter you from the wind. Briefing, dinner and a glass of wine round the campfire. Wild camping.
To Heuningvlei
The day starts with a hike in a northerly direction towards Suurrug, one of Wupperthal’s outposts. Early morning you will be greeted by unbelievably beautiful rock formations, and it will continue for the rest of the day. Later in the day you reach lovely swimming pools next to a perennial river. Tonight’s camp is at Heuningvlei Backpackers, close to a cedar tree plantation, in a tent or in the Backpacker rooms.
Back to Drakie Camp
A different route back, this time straight into the true Cederberg. You’ll stop at rock art few outsiders have seen, and at the spot where cedar saplings from the nursery have been replanted. Lunch by a stream, camp again at Drakie camp.
To Esel Camp
Pass many local communities, hiking along a two-track path that follows a river running 365 days a year. Tonight’s camp is close to the waterfall and the community of Eselbank.
To Martiensrus Camp
Morning starts with the Eselbank Waterfall, then sandy tracks through proteas and fynbos to Ereboog, the honorary arch. Meet a family farming the valley the way their ancestors did and follow a stream for a few km till you reach Martiensrus camp, where locally made Rooibos ginger beer is waiting.
To Vaalheuning Camp
The toughest day on paper, though most of it is an easy grade. A steep climb pushes the rating up, and it’s worth it: from the high point you look down over Wupperthal and the Cederberg on one side, the Tankwa Karoo plains on the other, tracing the whole route you’ve walked. Camp at Vaalheuning, Wupperthal’s most remote outpost, reachable only by 4×4.
Back to Wupperthal & departure
Downhill most of the way on an old 4×4 track, in three roughly even stretches of flat, loose-rock descent, and flat again. You’ll walk the length of Wupperthal’s historic main street, still under repair after a fire a few years back, and finish at the old mission church, where the local brass band plays you in. Breakfast and a farewell finger lunch included.
Everything the trail needs. Nothing you don’t.
Included
- 6 nights of wild camping, with the option to rent an LTJ dome tent, mattress and full set-up for R2,000 pp sharing
- Local guides and a full support crew
- Luggage and camping gear transported between camps each day (LTJ duffle bag supplied)
- All meals, from your welcome dinner on Day 1 to breakfast on departure morning, including packed lunch ingredients and hearty veld dinners
- Coffee and tea with meals, plus limited wine each evening
- Drinking and shower water
- Hot showers, toilets and a camping chair at every camp
- Firewood
Not included
- Travel to and from Wupperthal, and any accommodation before or after the hike
- Tent, mattress, sleeping bag and pillow (tents and mattresses available to rent, see above)
- Hiking cutlery and crockery set
- Daypack and personal hiking gear: walking sticks, water bottles, lunch box, blister kit, your own medication
- Drinks beyond what’s listed above (Honesty bar available)
- Comprehensive medical and travel insurance, including emergency evacuation cover (compulsory, proof required before departure)
- Voluntary Community Fee of R380 pp, which keeps Wupperthal’s Riel dancers and brass band going
R17,900 per adult, single or sharing · one annual departure
One departure a year, so plan ahead.
Prices are per person and hold whether you’re travelling solo or sharing, based on bringing your own camping equipment. Add R2,000 pp to rent an LTJ dome tent set up and struck for you each night.
Only got five days, not seven? You can join on 1 September and follow the Wupperthal66 itinerary instead, at the Wupperthal66 price.
Emergency medical evacuation insurance is compulsory, through your medical aid or travel insurance, and proof is required before the hike. An indemnity form is required from every hiker.
Use a currency converter for an approximate figure in your local currency, noting that the final cost is determined by the exchange rate at the time of confirmation and payment.