LOCAL TRAVEL
Hogsback
WHERE TIME LOOSENS ITS GRIP
BY MILOU STAUB
DISCOVER HOGSBACK IN THE AMATHOLE MOUNTAINS, A MISTY FOREST VILLAGE RENOWNED FOR ITS HIKING TRAILS, WATERFALLS, SLOW TRAVEL, AND DEEP NATURAL CALM.
Some places don’ t shout for attention. They quietly tap you on the shoulder and whisper, slow down. Hogsback, high up in the Amathole Mountains, is one of those places. You don’ t rush here. The mist, the forest, and the winding roads keep you from rushing.
As the road climbs, the landscape unfolds in wide green folds and distant escarpments. Valleys dip away dramatically, cliffs rise with quiet confidence, and every bend seems to offer another view stop. This is big-country energy, the kind of scenery that makes conversations trail off as everyone’ s too busy staring.
My first visit to Hogsback was unplanned. We were on a road trip from Cape Town to the Transkei in a burgundy Toyota Tazz. Five of us. Cramped seats. Music too loud. Snacks everywhere. Absolutely brilliant. We arrived curious and left slightly changed.
70 INBOUND SA / FEBRUARY 2026