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History of the Tradouw Pass – A Short, Scenic Mountain Route With a Big Story

The Tradouw Pass, connecting Suurbraak in the Overberg to Barrydale on Route 62, is one of South Africa’s most beautiful and historically significant mountain crossings. Its name comes from the Khoekhoe word tarras-dou, often translated as “the women’s path,” hinting at ancient movement through this rugged landscape long before roads were carved into its sandstone cliffs. Today, travellers experience a compact but dramatic journey of towering rock walls, mountain streams, and sweeping bends—made even more immersive in 360° video.
The pass was originally built in 1868–1873 under the direction of the famed road engineer Thomas Bain, whose work connected remote farming communities with trade routes across the Cape. Bain relied heavily on local labour from Suurbraak’s mission community, with hundreds of workers cutting, blasting and shaping the pass by hand using picks, shovels, wheelbarrows and black powder. The construction was slow and dangerous. Sheer drops, unstable rock faces and winter floods made progress difficult, yet Bain’s engineering skill is still visible today in the dry-stone retaining walls and graceful curves designed to accommodate horses, wagons and later early motorcars.
The Tradouw Pass quickly became an essential link between the Overberg and the Little Karoo, reducing isolation and opening up Barrydale and the broader Klein Karoo to coastal trade. Floods have repeatedly damaged the pass—most dramatically in the 1980s and again in 2003—leading to major strengthening and reconstruction, but Bain’s original line remains intact. Today it’s celebrated as one of the most scenic short mountain passes in South Africa, popular with road-trippers, motorcyclists, cyclists, and increasingly with content creators capturing its dramatic geology in immersive formats.
Whether you’re travelling to the Barrydale in Bloom festival, exploring Route 62, or simply seeking one of the Western Cape’s most photogenic drives, the Tradouw Pass offers a blend of history, engineering, and raw Cape mountain beauty that’s unlike anywhere else.