Paarl Rock, Cape Town's Hidden Granite Gem

Today in Lan Ha Bay, Vietnam, I was on a tender boat transferring back to Cat Ba Island with a group of climbing clients after our day of climbing.

One of our "independent" clients — meaning he had simply joined us on the boat that morning to be transferred out to Screwed Loose, a 6a multi-pitch climb on Tiger Beach in Lan Ha Bay, and was now returning with us to Cat Ba — was having a chat with me and mentioned that he'd been to Cape Town, South Africa, and had climbed there.

Mainly in Montagu, at Rocklands for bouldering, and on Table Mountain for traditional (trad) climbing in the city.

Rocklands is about 250 km from Cape Town, while Table Mountain is literally right in the city itself.

It was really nice chatting about my home again, the spectacular sites both near and far, and especially lovely to hear about someone travelling all the way to the Southern Hemisphere and Cape Town specifically for climbing!

However, this was not the first time I've spoken to a client who had travelled to Cape Town specifically for climbing but had either skipped, or simply didn't know about, the MANY beautiful — in fact, epic — climbing spots that are much closer to the CBD.

Not 3 or 4 hours away.

Not traditional climbing or bouldering only.

But also awesome sport climbing, single-pitch and multi-pitch climbing.

Places such as Silvermine Crag, Lakeside Pinnacle and Paarl Rock, and many more.

Much closer, in fact, and practically right under their noses.

Paarl Rock

Today I am going to talk about Paarl Rock, and why I think it is one of the most beautiful and epic unknown slab sport climbing areas in the world.

Yet, despite being so spectacular, it seems to be virtually unknown to much of the international climbing world.

Furthermore, it is an absolute gem that is only around 60 km from Cape Town CBD.

What many people do not know about this amazing rock is that Paarl Mountain is one of the largest granite outcrops in the world.

The mountain consists of three enormous granite domes — Paarl Rock, Bretagne Rock and Gordon Rock — which formed around 500 million years ago. The granite formed deep underground and was eventually exposed through geological uplift and erosion over an enormous period of time.

The result is an incredible landscape of huge rounded granite domes, slabs and walls.

And, of course, climbing!

There are hundreds of climbing routes spread across the Paarl Rocks, offering everything from easier slabs to harder granite walls, with some absolutely epic multi-pitch climbing.

The mountain rises dramatically above the surrounding Paarl landscape, with some of the granite domes reaching around 650 metres above sea level, and the climbing offers some of the most beautiful and picturesque lines you could ask for.

Whilst it is obviously nowhere near Yosemite in scale, I consider it the Yosemite close to my home and heart — and, importantly, something that is much more achievable for the more average climber.

Slab Climbing

This place is not for the faint-hearted nonetheless.

I mean, that goes without saying within the world of climbing.

The concept of fear is also a relative idea between different types of humans, their personalities, experience levels and what they are comfortable with.

There are people who literally hate limestone and people who absolutely love it, and vice versa for example.

But one thing I know from my experience is that many climbers will clearly tell you that they do not enjoy slab climbing on granite, or that they find it very scary indeed, and would rather stay clear of it.

However, I can say the following.

The first — and so far only — time I ever climbed at Paarl, I climbed Sands of Time, around 6a.

It is an absolutely magical multi-pitch sport climb, and I managed absolutely fine.

Sands of Time is a four-pitch sport route of around 97 metres, and is regarded as a classic of Paarl Rock.

At this stage of my life, with a bit more experience climbing under my belt, it would probably feel like a lovely stroll up some granite.

But I remember that first experience.

It was simply a beautiful day out in an incredible place that barely any humans get to enjoy — and, even more amazingly, many people around the world who travel to Cape Town to climb don't even know it exists.

And that, to me, is what makes Paarl Rock so special.

Much More Than Just a Climbing Area

Paarl Rock is a special place for many other reasons too.

It is also home to the Afrikaans Language Monument, situated on the slopes of Paarl Mountain. The monument was completed in 1975 and celebrates the Afrikaans language and its diverse origins.

The original Khoikhoi name for Paarl Mountain was !hom !nãb/s, which translates as Tortoise Mountain, because of the mountain's rounded, tortoise-shell-like appearance.

Both of these things are a great part of my own heritage.

My family is Afrikaans, and I have a lot of Khoi ancestry, being of mixed descent in Cape Town, South Africa.

The town of Paarl itself is also a beautiful and relatively quiet Winelands town, surrounded by vineyards and large wine estates, with a rich and complicated history of its own.

So when you combine the climbing, the enormous granite landscape, the views, the history, the culture and the surrounding Winelands, Paarl is much more than simply another climbing area.

It is a pretty incredible place.

And it is sitting there, just outside Cape Town.

My name is Govan Adrian Basson.

More about me here in this blog release: Link is coming soon!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/govanadrianbasson/

Director – Baboona Adventures