Du Toitskloof Pass (English: Du Toit's Rift) is situated in the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

province of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, on the regional route

R101 R101 was one of a pair of British rigid airships completed in 1929 as part of a British government programme to develop civil airships capable of service on long-distance routes within the British Empire. It was designed and built by an Air Mi ...

between

Paarl Paarl (; Afrikaans: ; derived from ''Parel'', meaning "pearl" in Dutch) is a town with 112,045 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the third-oldest city and European settlement in the Republic of South Africa (after ...

and

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

. It was initially an animal track where a road was built around the time of World War II, including a 200m ''Du Toitskloof Tunnel''. Since the opening of the 3900m

Huguenot Tunnel The Huguenot Tunnel is a toll tunnel near Cape Town, South Africa. It extends the N1 national road through the Du Toitskloof mountains that separate Paarl from Worcester, providing a route that is safer, faster (between 15 and 26 minute The ...

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

, the pass no longer forms part of the N1 national road and was renumbered as R101.

Geography

Route

Originally 48 km long, the pass climbed to . The

, opened in 1988, is the largest curved structure in South Africa and shortens the road by . It is operated as a toll road. There is an impressive viaduct on the Paarl approach side. The surrounding peaks often sport a covering of snow and the

Mountain Club of South Africa The Mountain Club of South Africa (MCSA) is the largest and oldest mountaineering club in South Africa. It facilitates and engages in mountaineering, climbing of all types, bouldering, hiking, international expeditions, mountain search and res ...

has huts in the area.

Du Toits Peak The Du Toitskloof Mountains (Dutoitsberge) are a range in the Cape Fold Belt in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. The highest point is Du Toits Peak (Dutoitspiek) () which is the highest seaward facing peak in the Cape Fold Belt rang ...

is the highest mountain at .

History

The pass was named after Francois Du Toit, a 17th-century Huguenot pioneer who settled in the foothills. Prior to 1825, farmers used the pass to get to the interior beyond. At that time, Lieutenant Schonfelt of the farm Du Toitskloof asked the Cape Colony government for money for a road through the pass but no funds were provided. Another pass became the better route and in 1845, the route over the

Bainskloof Pass Bainskloof Pass ( af, Bainskloofpas) is a mountain pass on the R301 regional road between Wellington and Ceres in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The 18-kilometer (11-mile) pass, opened in 1854, was constructed by road engineer Andrew ...

was constructed, named after engineer

Andrew Geddes Bain Andrew Geddes Bain (baptised 11 June 1797 – 20 October 1864), was a South African geologist, road engineer, palaeontologist and explorer. Life history The only child of Alexander Bain and Jean Geddes, both of whom died when Bain was still a ...

. In 1930, engineer P.A. de Villiers explored the idea of a road over the pass and in 1938 it was investigated further by the National Roads Board with the route finalised in 1940. The project was started in the summer of 1941/42. It cost R1.25 million and was 40 km long with the road opened in March 1949 by Prime Minister

DF Malan Daniël François Malan (; 22 May 1874 – 7 February 1959) was a South African politician who served as the fourth prime minister of South Africa from 1948 to 1954. The National Party implemented the system of apartheid, which enforce ...

References

{{Reflist Mountain passes of the Western Cape N1 (South Africa)