Otter Trail
Encyclopedia
The Otter Trail is a hiking trail along the Garden Route
coast of South Africa
and is named for the Cape Clawless Otter which occurs in this region. This trail is widely regarded as one of the finest in the world and stretches from Storms River Mouth 34°01′15.5"S 23°52′47.5"E in the east to Nature's Valley
33°58′56"S 23°34′36"E in the west, is 26 km long as the crow flies and 41 km as the hiker walks. Walking the trail takes 5 days, and the 4 nights are spent in comfortable huts with superb views. The route is located entirely within the Tsitsikamma National Park
, which protects an 80 km long strip of coastal mountains, forest and beaches.
The trail traverses an extremely scenic landscape, never straying far from the shoreline, but often climbing steeply and then descending to the beach or a river crossing. Vegetation along the way is either fynbos
, dense gallery forest
or open, rocky sections near the sea with an abundance of wildflowers.
Garden Route
The Garden Route is a popular stretch of the south-eastern coast of South Africa. It stretches from Heidelberg in the Western Cape to the Storms River which is crossed along the N2 coastal highway over the Paul Sauer Bridge in the extreme western reach of the neighbouring Eastern Cape...
coast of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and is named for the Cape Clawless Otter which occurs in this region. This trail is widely regarded as one of the finest in the world and stretches from Storms River Mouth 34°01′15.5"S 23°52′47.5"E in the east to Nature's Valley
Nature's Valley
Nature's Valley is a holiday resort and small village on the Garden Route along the southern Cape coast of South Africa, tucked between the Soutrivier, the foothills of the Tsitsikamma Mountains, the Indian Ocean and the Groot River lagoon...
33°58′56"S 23°34′36"E in the west, is 26 km long as the crow flies and 41 km as the hiker walks. Walking the trail takes 5 days, and the 4 nights are spent in comfortable huts with superb views. The route is located entirely within the Tsitsikamma National Park
Tsitsikamma National Park
The Tsitsikamma National Park is a coastal reserve on the Garden Route in South Africa. It is well known for indigenous forests, dramatic coastline, and the Otter Trail. On 6 March 2009 it was amalgamated with the Wilderness National Park and various other areas of land to form the Garden Route...
, which protects an 80 km long strip of coastal mountains, forest and beaches.
The trail traverses an extremely scenic landscape, never straying far from the shoreline, but often climbing steeply and then descending to the beach or a river crossing. Vegetation along the way is either fynbos
Fynbos
Fynbos is the natural shrubland or heathland vegetation occurring in a small belt of the Western Cape of South Africa, mainly in winter rainfall coastal and mountainous areas with a Mediterranean climate...
, dense gallery forest
Gallery forest
Gallery forests are evergreen forests that form as corridors along rivers or wetlands and project into landscapes that are otherwise only sparsely treed such as savannas, grasslands or deserts....
or open, rocky sections near the sea with an abundance of wildflowers.
Trail stages
- Day 1 - 4.8 km (± 2 hours)
- Day 2 - 7.9 km (± 4 hours)
- Day 3 - 7.7 km (± 4 hours)
- Day 4 - 13.8 km (± 6 hours)
- Day 5 - 6.8 km (± 3 hours)
- Total Distance 41 km