5 remote towns in SA almost off the map

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In a country as vast and varied as South Africa, the phrase “off the beaten path” isn’t just a travel cliché – it’s a geographical reality.

Beyond the highways and tourist trails lie remote towns that exist at the edge of the map, where the road stops and the wild takes over. These aren’t just remote – they’re the full stop at the end of the sentence.

Here are five remote towns in South Africa that truly mark the end of the road…

1. Pella, Northern Cape, South Africa

Catholic Cathedral in Pella, Northern Cape. Image: wikimedia commons

Pella isn’t just isolated – it’s almost mythical. Tucked between the Orange River and the harsh Namib Desert, this mission town ends where South Africa nearly becomes Namibia. Founded by Catholic missionaries in the 1800s, it’s known for its unexpectedly grand cathedral, built by hand from river stones and desert sand. Getting there requires determination. Once you arrive, there’s nothing but sky, silence, and the sand stretching toward the horizon.

Why it’s the end of the road: Beyond Pella, the tar disappears. You’re into 4×4 territory and borderland dunes.

2. Rhodes, Eastern Cape Highlands

Rhodes, Eastern Cape. Image: wikimedia commons

Up in the mountains of South Africa’s Southern Drakensberg, Rhodes is a one-road-in, one-road-out kind of town. Snow in winter and muddy passes in summer. Yet the charm is magnetic: tin-roofed cottages, trout-filled rivers, and a stillness that city dwellers pay to find. If you’re here, it’s because you meant to be – or because your GPS gave up.

Why it’s the end of the road: You cross the treacherous Naude’s Nek Pass to get in. Past that? Just mountains, sheep, and the Lesotho border.

3. Wupperthal, Western Cape, South Africa

remote towns south africa — Wupperthal, Western Cape. Image: wikimedia commons

Wupperthal sits alone in a fold of the Cederberg mountains, reachable only by a narrow gravel road winding through scorched rock and rooibos fields. This Moravian mission village feels suspended in time. Donkeys still carry supplies. Cottages are whitewashed, thatched, and unchanged since the 1800s. It’s a place of retreat, especially for those escaping something, whether it’s cell signal or the modern world.

Why it’s the end of the road: The road ends at Wupperthal’s church square. Beyond that, just walking trails into South Africa’s mountain wilderness.

4. Lekkersing, Richtersveld

Welcome to Namaqualand’s deep cut. As far as remote towns go, Lekkersing isn’t on the way to anywhere – it is the destination. Nestled in the Richtersveld, South Africa’s only mountain desert, this Nama village is home to singing sands, rock-strewn moonscapes, and ancient traditions that defy modern timelines. It’s hot, dry, and beautiful in a way only desolation can be.

Why it’s the end of the road: Beyond Lekkersing, the road gets eaten by rocks and desert tracks leading toward the Orange River and nowhere else.

5. Port Nolloth, Northern Cape Coast, South Africa

Once a hub for copper shipping and diamond divers, Port Nolloth now drifts in a kind of oceanic dream state. The road literally ends here, where the icy Benguela current slams into the continent. There’s a sleepy port, salt-crusted houses, and cold fog that rolls in with the tide. It feels like a forgotten chapter in a desert novel.

Why it’s the end of the road: North of here, roads fade into the desert and the Sperrgebiet. You’re at the edge of the Atlantic and the edge of South Africa.