Less than an hour's drive from Cape Town and its golden beaches, lies another one of the Cape's gems or rather, pearls.

In 1657 Abraham Gabemma set out inland to search for new meat resources. It was after a rainstorm when he saw a mountain in the distance, with a giant granite rock which glistened like a wet pearl in the sun. He named the mountain "Peerleberg" (Pearl Mountain), which later became Paarl Mountain and the town that evolved at its base was named Paarl.

Paarl is surrounded by a naturally beautiful countryside, dotted with many farms and smallholdings. Few towns are blessed with a landscape this dramatic, where the massive granite mountain contrasts with its picturesque fynbos vegetation, the famous Paarl Rock set among ancient wild olives, rock candle woods and wagon trees. Paarl Mountain offers several viewpoints, from where you have a panoramic view towards Table Mountain and the sea in the west, and the Boland Mountain ranges in the east.