South Africa is riddled with caves and caverns -- the most well known being the Sudwala Caves in Mpumalanga, the Cango Caves near Oudtshoorn in the Western Cape, and the archaeologically important Sterkfontein Caves in Gauteng. Other caves that merit attention include: the Echo Caves; Battle Cave in the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Mountains and numerous caves and overhangs painted with prehistoric san rock art;
The Sudwala Caves, a series of caverns, are one of South Africa's major tourist attractions. The caves are believed to be about 2 000 million years old and contain not only stalagmites and stalagtites, but also the fossilised remains of 'collenia' a form of algae that it is believed life on earth evolved from.
The Cango Caves are one of the worlds great natural wonders, sculptured by nature through the ages and featuring fascinating limestone formations in a wide variety of colours. Trained guides conduct visitors through this underground wonderworld of the world's finest stalactite cave.
The internationally renowned Cango Caves lie in the Swartberg Mountain Range near to the small "Little Karoo" town of Oudtshoorn in South Africa. Being just inland from the Eastern Cape coast, the Cango Caves make a perfect destination for anyone on Safari along the Garden Route.
The Cango Caves are a South African national monument. A tour through the Cango Caves is a most memorable experience and should not be missed by anyone travelling to South Africa. The opportunities for stunning photographs are made possible by the ample lighting. Tours are lead by experienced and knowledgeable guides.
How the Cango Caves were formed:
The Cango Caves lie in a limestone belt measuring 0,5km in width and almost 16km in length. The limestone layer was formed by the deposit of 'oolites' which are loosely-bound calcium carbonate crystals. Due to the age of the limestone (750 million years - before complex life existed on Earth) no fossils have been found.
This part of the continent was once below the ocean. As the continent rose and upliftment occurred, the Little Karoo finally found itself above the water level. The beautiful geological formations along the Garden Route, the Little Karoo and especially the Swartberg Mountain Range bears testimony to the forces that where exerted on the Earth's crust by a major mountain building episode 280 - 230 million years ago, a direct result of continental drift, and the break-up of Gondwanaland 100 million years later (160 million years ago).
The caves only started to form some 20 million years ago, however, when the water level dropped to such an extent that the ground water could start to seep into the limestone. As the water seeped into the ground it absorbed carbon dioxide from the decaying plant and animal matter in the soil and this made it fairly acidic.
As it seeped into the limestone, cavities were created that filled with water. Rivers also formed on the surface and cut deeply enough into the limestone to allow them to reach the level of the water pockets. This caused the water to flow out about 4 million years ago. The cave was then, for the first time, exposed to air and the speleothems or cave formations could begin forming.
For thousands of years, the caves were unknown, except to animals. However, about 10 000 years ago, the Khoisan used the entrance area of the cave as shelter. They never wandered deeper into the cave though due to their superstitious nature. The entrance area to the Caves was originally rich in bushman paintings though with time these have been damaged. The San left this area and their cave approximately 500 years ago.
Slowly, over the years, more and more chambers and tunnels were discovered and in 1891 the first tour was conducted through the Cango Caves. It was only between 1972 and 1975 that Cango 2, 3, 4 and 5 were discovered.
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