Steenbras river mouth in Hermanus

Fantastic place with amazing views. Be baboon bright when you here.

This hike is not recommended for the 65 plus age group. Just too strenuous.

Beautiful! Been here twice and will def go back again

Beautiful hike to the crystal pools. Water was very fresh this time of year!

Great hike providing for different levels of fitness. You need to be reasonably fit though and be fine with some scrambling. If you have good endurance, you can hike to the 3rd pool. Those who are exhausted earlier can remain at pool 1 or at pool 2. Swimming and jumping into the pools is great fun and refreshing.

An amazing experience, a have to when in Cape Town!! Watch out for the baboons though… they will steal all your food.Also ensure you pre book.

Typically useless in trying to get hold of anyone while trying to make a booking. It was far better when you could just show up and get a permit. But as usual dealing with anything governmental in South Africa is useless

Very beautiful and fun. Its a great hike and the pools are amazing. Nice places to jump into pools, if you arent afraid of heights. Really great to relax. Hike early in the morning since it has no shade, bring lots of water and sunscreen as well. Be careful there are baboons, but I didnt encounter them. Trail is marked well, just follow the footsteps. And most importantly enjoy the hike

Breathtaking views, divine natural pools and epic trail to hike. Please do not leave your litter in the reserve. Enjoy 🌞

You have to book months ahead to be able to visit here, there are various ways of booking, which include through the City of Cape Town, which apparently is way cheaper than the R120 p.p. that the tickets are currently going for through these other go between.

Epic hike, HikersNetwork never disappoint, entry fee of R100 per person. Lots of rock climbing with some scrambling, would rate it as moderate.

Beautiful place. Excellent hike, hard but rewarding. Rock jumping into the pools is a must

Finally visited the crystal pools after many years of wanting to, and they did not disappoint. The staff at the entrance were helpful and friendly, as were the other hikers we encountered on the day we went (high summer). It was a hot day (>30 degrees Celsiuswhich made the 2-3km hike to the pools a bit challenging in places. But this also made the reward of swimming in the pools that much sweeter. In some of the more secluded pools, it truly felt like we had this bit of paradise all to ourselves.

Beautiful hiking trails and stunning, natural rock pools.

So beautiful and tranquil. Not an easy hike if youre making your way all the way to the top pool at the waterfall. You may have sore legs the next day. But so beautiful

Combo of moderate and hard. Hectic at times with a lot of loose rock under foot. Reached the third pool, which was well worth the effort.

It was a tough route but worth every moment of the suffering to get to the highest waterfalls..

Nice short hike with lots of swimming spots.

Great walk. Be careful for the baboons, as they would not attack necessarily, but they sneak up onto your belongings if you leave it for a minute. A single baboon sneaked up on our bag, grabbed it and left onto the bushes. Luckily after 15 search we found it again. The bag was not damaged, neither anything lost. But what fascinated me was the fact that it knew how to open the zips... It saw that there was no food in the bag and just left it...

The pools are incredible. The 1st one in my opinion is the nicest. It has lots of space to sit on the rocks and enjoy the area. The second pool, further up, is better protected from the wind, however there is very little area to sit, and it is on soil, not rocks.The third pool is a significant walk from the second and you need to be confident to climb rocks. Very easy scrambling, not for everybody though.******Baboon Warning***********While we were there, two people had their bag stollen by baboons. Both were being careful. We had food snatched out of our hands by baboons, again, we were aware of the baboons and were being careful. In the way there a big make baboon blocked our path. Not sure why, however we had to wait for him to move on. At no stage did I feel that we were in danger. At the same time we did have to be careful.A suggestion is not to go up to the pools to picnic. Also, even if you don’t have food in your bag, don’t put keys and phones in your bag. Both people who we saw with their bags stollen had to get the bags back as they had car keys in them. It adds a lot of stress.

This can be easy-ish or difficult hike if you carry on past the first 2 pools. Be aware of baboons, the are very present and come in close contact. Respect Nature

The hike is very good for the soul and once you get to the pools you will be grateful, such a beautiful spot to go.

Perfect full day outing. An easy hike, not too long or steep. Lots of stones, so it takes awhile. 4 beautiful rock pools to swim in. Its very worthwhile to go up the steep incline to get to the 4th one. For the amount of effort required for this hike, especially until the 1st rock pool, it is incredible value.

Amazing hike! Very hot! Take lots of liquids

Was an awesome experience even though we were advised that we should look out for Baboons, snakes and leopards. The waterfalls are worth the hike. I will advise first time hikers or hikers that is just starting out to not start with this one as it can become a tad but hectic and strenuous depending on your fitness level but as I said...it was worth it.

A short easy walk to Crystal pools. You can enjoy the sun while sitting next to the river or find a spot at the pools.

What an amazing Hike! For a first time hiker, I struggled a bit on the steep inclines, but enjoying the pools at the end was well worth it. Will Definitely be going again!

Dont go during the day. I almost died in the heat. Its hectic. Go during the morning. We were also lucky and didnt have a permit, nobody was at the gate and we could just walk through. I didnt make it to the 1st or any dam. Started hiking at 1pm and turned around about 14:10. Decided to swim at the wonderful river down at the beach and eat our snacks there. Had a lovely time!!!

Loved it. Short hike, took us around 45 minutes to reach the second lake which we took a dip. Go further and 1 hour 15 minutes or so till the last lake. We also had a friendly visitor, Mr baboon, who came and said hello, showed off his wiener and disappeared like a magician.If you encounte lr them, be nice to them, dont just scream and intimidate them. Mind your own business and they just be on their way. Dont leave food and your bags laying if they are around and you will be fine. Also if they are walking towards you, it doesnt necessarily mean that they are coming at you, you are probably just on their path.. So be calm and enjoy how pretty those creatures are and be thankful that you are able to see them.There were some group of tourists who yelled at him to scare him off, we heard on our way to the 5th lake.. Felt bad for the fella, he was just saying hello..Hike was easy, atleast for us. And water is very clean and refreshing.Keep in mind you need to buy a permit. Apparently you can buy it online but we bought it on the spot at the Pitstop cafe by the starting point of the hike. 2 drinks per persom are included in the price of the permit, which is 160 rand if I remember correct.

Really nice hike approximately 6.5 km in and 6.5 km back. Suitable for children and older ones. 3 pools nice size suitable for swimming. This hike is also not all day sun some nice shade spots. Hike not too much elavation some climbing over rocks. Very nice hike. Epic. 👌👍

Wonderful hike up the gorge and magnificent views from many stops. The walk passes tranquil mountain pools where you can swim or enjoy the experience from a sunny rocky outcrop. Allow yourself a good few hours to enjoy the experience. Entry requires you to have a day permit which you can purchase from the official "Steenbras gorge and crystal pools" website at R75.00 per person per day. Its only open a few months of the year for hiking so check first.

A beautiful walk up to the first lot of main pools. The walk is well marked. The pools are gorgeous to swim in. Very natural and wild still. The hike up to the second pool area is a bit tougher and the last lot up to the very top waterfall is quite steep and high. Im scared of heights but I managed. I wouldnt recommend taking children under 10 on this part of the hike as you need to do some climbing and scrambling using your arms. Well worth the hike. We spent 7 hours doing all 3 with swimming in between. So be sure to leave early , take lots of water and food.

Worth the hike, stunning views and pools are super refreshing after the hike. Go early to avoid the blazing sun during summer and then you get the benefit from small crowds or having the pools to yourself.

The pools are beautiful but the management of this trail is dismal.Im an experienced hiker, had GPS and high res maps on my phone of trail and still got hopelessly lost multiple times. What should have taken an hour and a half round trip took two and a half.Very frustrating as all the trail needs is new markers which are inexpensive. If youre on the trail its totally fine but very easy to come off the trail.Paid for permits are in place for "conservation", but with the trail as is this is a fallacy as dozens of false trails where others have got lost resulting in ecological degradation. It would be very easy to get lost and seriously injured on one of the steep trails to pools.I would recommend just trying to get to the first pool as anything beyond is way more challenging.

Nice 1,5hr hike to the pools. Well worth a visit

Beautiful place and worth the hike. Would recommend it any day

Awesome hike.. Refreshing swim. Be weary of the Baboons...

Awesome walk to the pools, great swimming and beautiful area. Permits are a little tricky to get. I feel the walk could better sign posted as the beginning area has been burn out it was easy to lose the path. I would recommend taking a map of the area so you can know what pool youve reached and how many more are further along. Walk was advertised as 45min to the first pool, it was much longer while walking fast, and not really clear what counts as the first pool.

Beautiful trial. Not too long. But good fitness levels needed. Lovely rock pools for swimming. Scenery is breathtaking. Perfect for a hot summer day. Go early and enjoy seclusion and privacy of your choice of 6 pools. Pools 3 onwards is a bit of steep climb to get to. So pack comfortable shoes. And loads of water

Unspoilt beauty. Short hike to amazing natural pools. A bit of uphill scrambles but easy enough for old and cranky me to have managed😁

Getting to the first 4 pools is quite easy.The problem comes when you want to reach the last pool, the larger one. You need to trek through an almost un-existing trail, over a rocky mountain.And believe me... most of the people get lost.The trail is almost hidden, with a mark every 100 or more meters. Very hard to follow and harder to take back to the camp.In any case pool 5 is the best.For obvious reasons there are no people there. Mostly all prefer to avoid the very hard and dangerous trail to it.It is a great place to visit, but get yourself a good detail map to avoid been wondering, looking for the trail back.No cellphone signal, great escape. Recommended

A must hike if you visiting the cape town area. Booking is essential as you will need a permit. Take a costume and swim in the many natural pools or hike up to the summit. This is not a hard hike, but come prepared with water, snacks, sunblock. Good shoes required, but does not have to be hiking boots. Recommended to do this as a group, or at least 2 people. Its quite easy to loose your path and get lost, so if you with a group that has not been up there, and ensure your phone is charged for Google maps.

Exquisite large deep pools for swimming and the walk isnt too tough or too long.

Beautiful hiking trail, incredible vistas for taking pictures. From the view of the ocean from the parking area to the top of the mountain. And the pools are awesome for a swim! Booking your permit well in advance is essential; only 50 people allowed in per day. Tranquil and beautiful!

Had a lovely sunday hike at the crystal pools. The hike itself challenging if youre only planning on going to the first big pool. If youre keen on a bit of a longer hike, explore and see the second and third pool, theyre better in my opinion. Hiking to the top of the mountain on the left if also worth it, great view of the ocean. Would do it again!

Great hike to a series of crystal pools and falls.

The pools are so beautiful. Lovely to swim in, with little waterfalls to jump off. Hiking is super easy and can be done by all fitness levels.

Simply amazing and a wonderful place to spend a hot summer day, cooling off in the Crystal Pools

Amazing pools😍😍 I wouldnt call the hike easy. Could be considered tough for non hikers. But the swim and views are definitely worth the effort. Hiking boots highly recommended to protect ankles from twisting.

Great hike, beautiful place. The trail could have better signs, at some point it can be a bit confusing which way to follow, but in any case, its a great hike. Towards the end, closer to the last pools, it gets a bit more didficult, as in you need to use your arms to be able to climb the big rocks, but its def doable. Dont forget sun lotion and lots of water. Too much food is not advisable, because it can attract baboons, so try to stick to energy bars or so.