Hostels in Kestell, South Africa

Located in the foothills of the Maluti Mountains in Free State, the tiny village of Kestell, South Africa, sits just off the N5 about halfway between Harrismith and Bethlehem. Not easily reached without your own wheels, it is nevertheless a really beautiful, peaceful place to stay and a handy base for the Golden Gate Highlands National Park and its numerous hiking trails about fifteen kilometers away.

Kestell can be reached by public transport from Johannesburg, by taking an occasional minibus taxi going to Qwa-Qwa. The journey takes about three hours via Reitz. There are long-distance coaches that will drop you in Harrismith, but you have to hitch from there to Kestell. Phuthadijhaba is the regional hub, and you can catch local transport from here, if you are coming from the south.

It's worth the effort to get here, though. Built to serve maize-farming communities one hundred ten years ago, it's a leafy, quiet place, offering up great views of the Drakensburg Mountains to the south. The Dutch Reformed Church dominates the village and can be seen from the N5 highway. It was designed by Gerard Leendert Pieter Moerdijk, who also designed Pretoria's Voortrekker Monument and was inaugurated in the early twentieth century.

Despite its smallness, you can find a backpackers' hostel in Kestell, South Africa. Your Kestell, South Africa hostel is a cozy, family-run place located to the south of the church; you can get maps and information for onward travel or for hiking in the National Park at your Kestell, South Africa hostel. If you've been hiking in Golden Gate Highlands National Park, this is a wonderful place to rest your sore legs.

There are a couple of small supermarkets in town for self-caterers, a Standard Bank with ATM, a post office, and a lone hotel. That's about it! The beauty of the village is just to wander and meet the friendly locals, or unwind in your Kestell, South Africa hostel's huge back garden.