Hole in the Wall Beach
The iconic Wild Coast cliff with a wave-carved arch — a beach, a rock formation, and a Xhosa legend in one stop.
Trip Role
Ideal stay
Best for
Our take
It is a mandatory pilgrimage for any serious traveler in the Eastern Cape, provided you respect the local community and the volatile sea.
It is a mandatory pilgrimage for any serious traveler in the Eastern Cape, provided you respect the local community and the volatile sea.
- Trip Role
- Trip Anchor
- Ideal Stay
- a morning
- Time Needed
- half day
- Best For
- hikers, photographers, and those interested in Xhosa culture
- Go If
- You want to witness one of South Africa's most significant geological landmarks and appreciate the cultural history of the Wild Coast.
Why it's worth your time
This massive, wave-carved rock arch stands as a sentinel at the mouth of the Mpako River. Known locally as esiKhaleni, or the place of thunder, it carries deep cultural weight in Xhosa mythology. It is a raw, geological spectacle that demands respect for the power of the Indian Ocean.
What we love
The way the ocean surges through the arch during high tide, creating the thunderous sound that gives the site its Xhosa name.
What to know
The area is remote with no professional lifeguards on duty, and currents can be dangerous; always check tide charts before swimming in the lagoon or near the rocks.
More beach in Eastern Cape
Boknes
A quiet Sunshine Coast beach at a river mouth near Kenton — uncrowded and warm, with a shipwreck on the shore.
Bushmans River Mouth
The estuary beach at Bushmans/Kenton — boating, swimming, and a river you can paddle up for kilometres.
Cannon Rocks
A long, empty Sunshine Coast beach near Addo's coast — dunes, a shipwreck, and almost no one.
Cintsa
A lagoon-and-sea beach half an hour from East London — the gentle gateway to the Wild Coast.
Coffee Bay Beach
A remote Wild Coast beach with cliffs, cattle on the sand, and the Hole in the Wall a walk away — the region's backpacker heart.
Gonubie Beach
East London's local beach — a long arc of warm sand with a boardwalk and a river-mouth swimming pool.