The town of Tulbagh

The charming historical town of Tulbagh is situated in the Witzenberg Local Municipality, with the valley called "Die Land van Waveren" locally. Tulbagh is near Wolseley, Prince Alfred's Hamlet, Gouda and Ceres, in the Winelands of Boland in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. There are lots of things to do and see, places to eat, scenic hiking trails, sport and horse riding. See here for accommodation in Tulbagh.

The valley has been inhabited for thousands of years by indigenous Bushmen and Khoi peoples. It was about 300 years ago when, after a land grant by the Dutch Colonial Government to a more or less equal number of Dutch and Huguenot settlers to settle the area, that Tulbagh was founded.

Tulbagh and its famous Church Street

The town as we know it now was developed in 1743 when the church was built. The town developed slowly and over time and in the period many notable examples of Cape Dutch architecture, Victorian and Edwardian houses and other buildings such as Die Oude Drosdy (the original colonial Magistrate's complex) were built in the valley. After the earthquake in 1969 every building in Church Street was restored. These 32 buildings were all declared National Monuments and Church Street is now graced by the largest number of original Cape- Dutch, Edwardian and Victorian National Monuments in one street in South Africa and is a major tourist attraction of the town to the present day.

The beautiful valley of Tulbagh

The town is situated on the northern end of the beautiful and fertile Tulbagh valley. The valley is almost completely surrounded by imposing mountain ranges, with the Obiqua Mountains to the west, the Winterhoek Mountains in the north and the Witzenberg Mountains to the east. The Great Winterhoek mountains tower 2077 metres above sea level and are picturesquely snowcapped in winter. The southern side of the valley is open to cooling south-east winds during the hot summer months.

Excellent wine production

Accordingly Tulbagh enjoys some of the most diverse and attractive conditions for viticulture in the Cape, and the differences in “terroir” (French wine term to describe the soil, placement and weather conditions) available to wine makers allow for a wide diversity of distinctive wines of excellence, attributes which have attracted many new producers to the valley.

Wild flora and plenty of fruit

A diverse flora is abundant all over the Tulbagh valley and in the mountains. Proteas grow wild, as do herbs such as Buchu. The spring brings a multitude of wild flowers to full bloom and coupled to the blossoms of the fruit trees, it makes for a glorious show of splendor. The productive valley produces some of the country's best red, white and sparkly wines, olive oil, peaches, grain, pears and 70% of the country's plums!

Tulbagh as a wedding and conference location

Tulbagh is a wonderful tourist and country holiday destination and tourism is actively promoted by the warm and friendly people of Tulbagh. The valley is fast becoming a wedding and conference location with all the facilities available to make for a memorable occasion. Towns such as Wellington, Malmesbury, Paarl, Franshoek, Riebeek Kasteel, Malmesbury, Piketberg, Porterville, Stellenbosch, Worcester and Rawsonville are within 45 mins drive from the valley and Cape Town is only 120 kms away.