Bain's Passes

Garcia's Pass

ThomasDocumented

Garcia laid out a bridle path in 1868. Thomas built the wagon road. It took him about four years because of the many tight curves.

R323Route
Approximately 12 kmLength
550 mSummit
Reconstructed 1976 and tarredSurface

See it on the mapLog your drive

Before you go

The pass is maintained to a high standard, has a good safety record and is suitable for all vehicle types. The Riversdale side includes gradients up to about 1:10.

Road conditions change with weather, floods, fires and roadworks. Check the latest conditions with the road authority or local tourism office before you leave, and carry offline maps.

About this pass

Garcia's connects Riversdale on the coastal plateau with Ladismith in the Karoo. It is approximately 12 km long (11.6 and 11.7 km are both quoted) with an altitude variance of 397 m. Gradients are mostly easy, up to 1:10 on the Riversdale side. It suits all vehicles and is well maintained, with a good safety record.

A Garcia's Pass convict station (Riversdale) has postal records from 1880 to 1882. Named after Maurice Garcia, Riversdale's civil commissioner (1863 or 1864 to 1877), an 1820 settler of Jewish-Portuguese descent who rode the Goukou River gorge on horseback to find a shorter route than the old Plattekloof road (in use since 1772) and the Gysmanshoek road. A bridle path was in use by 1868; Bain was asked to plan the road in 1871, and prisoners did the hard construction, housed in a temporary jail on site. Prime Minister Sir John Gordon Sprigg opened it in November 1879. Jimmy Luyt was the first toll collector, followed by his wife and Jan Swart; the toll house is a monument (1968) and the Kristalkloof and Sleeping Beauty (Mosambiekkop) footpaths start there. The road was rebuilt and asphalted in 1976, with a maximum gradient of 1:14 on the southern descent. Scenery: the Goukou canyon, buchu, renosterveld, mountain fynbos, spekboom veld and pink Erica; the climate shifts sharply as you drop towards the Karoo. Garcia retired in 1877 and died on 15 December 1884. The painter J.E.A. Volschenk painted the Langeberg near the pass. Ross's chronology: Civil Commissioner Garcia, an 1820 settler (1800–84), put a bridle path through the Kafferkuils River gorge in the 1860s, with a few convicts. Bain surveyed in 1869 and estimated R3,200 with convict labour in 1871, against Robinson's R6,000; work started end of 1873 with 107 convicts, and final cost was R58,712. The pass is 17.5 km long with 9 km of approach roads. It replaced the Plattekloof route. Widened and tarred in 1963; the sometimes 15 m high stone walls of Bain's road can still be seen. Declared a national monument in 1968.

History

Built by
Garcia laid out a bridle path in 1868. Thomas built the wagon road. It took him about four years because of the many tight curves.
Built
1871 or 1872 to 1877; officially opened November 1879. Two sources give November 1879 and one gives 31 December 1877; November 1879 is used as the opening date.
Location
R323, Riversdale to Ladismith, Western Cape
Later work
Rebuilt.Reconstructed 1976 and tarred.Upgraded.Widening and softening of curves in places; years not found.
Notes
Cost almost ten times the first estimate. Ross (2001) also gives 1877 for Garcia's Pass, which agrees with the 1877 end of construction used here; the official opening was later. SAHO's Garcia's Pass station dates (1880 to 1882) are later than the 1873 to 1877 build on this card, so they may refer to later work. Wikipedia gives the summit as 548 m, and 16 km of tracks; the Heritage Portal's Bain article gives 18 km and 1873–77; this card uses about 12 km. A travel blog dates the toll house to 1887 on the summit, against a 1968 monument declaration for a toll house at the start of the walking trails. Ross (Bell-Cross, Burman) says it was opened by Garcia himself on 31 December 1877; the Suid-Kaap Forum article cited above says Prime Minister Sprigg opened it in November 1879. The pass is given as 10 km, 11 miles, 17.5 km and 18 km in different sources.

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-33.96747, 21.21993
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