CLARENS VILLAGE CONSERVANCY
GOLDEN GATE highlands national park
CLARENS VILLAGE CONSERVANCY
Clarens is surrounded on three sides by the 800 hectare Clarens Nature Reserve, offering spectacular mountain scenery. This mountain reserve is maintained by the Clarens Village Conservancy (CVC), a non-profit organisation established in 2004 and managed by resident volunteers and five field rangers, all with a love for nature.
Explore the beauty
Their primary function is conserving the beautiful mountain habitat, but they have also established a network of 12 walking/hiking trails, ranging from easy to challenging, with most trails also suitable for mountain biking. The CVC has a beautiful wheelchair friendly trail, the only one of its kind in the Free State. The higher trails offer breathtaking views over the Little Caledon River Valley, up to the peaks in Golden Gate, and the mighty Maluti Mountains in Lesotho.
The CVC has a proud reputation of having the best maintained trail network in the Free State, and visitors keep coming back!
Whether you are staying in a hotel, guesthouse, or your own home, you can enjoy your favourite outdoor activity right from your doorstep in Clarens. For non-members, a permit is required for all activities in the Nature Reserve. These permits aren’t expensive at all and can be purchased from most coffee shops, restaurants and stores in the village.
GOLDEN GATE
Nestled in the rolling foothills of the Maluti Mountains of the north eastern Free State lies the Golden Gate Highlands National Park.
A drive through or hike in the park is an absolute must when you are visiting Clarens. It is a short and beautiful drive from the village with plenty of interesting stops along the way. Once at the park you can stop at the tourist centre and buy a permit and map and soon you will be soaking up the majestic Maluti mountains while hiking, horse riding, exploring caves and much more in their indescribable golden glow. The vulture’s restaurant (bird hide) welcomes birders to a proper vulture feast. Basotho Cultural Village will transport you back in time and take you on an incredible journey where a chief offers you mqombothi (sorghum beer), his wives offer you the fruits of their labour and a traditional healer offers you insight into African spirituality.
