5 Things You Didn't Know About South Africa's "Hole in the Wall"
Hole in the Wall is an impressive natural rocky archway found just off the Wild Coast in the Eastern Cape.
Hole in the Wall, Eastern CapeSouth African Tourism
1. The site is millions of years old
The stone and shale making up the cliff date back 260 million years.
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2. It is a place seeped in mythology
Local legend tells the story of a young woman who falls in love with a sea deity. Their forbidden love sparked the formation of the archway in the cliff.
Hole in the Wall, Eastern CapeSouth African Tourism
3. The cliff was once joined to the land
Geologists believe that continuous wave action against the softer sandstone rocks wore away the cliff walls.
Hole in the Wall, Eastern CapeSouth African Tourism
4. It has more than one name
Although it is frequently referred to as Hole in the Wall it is also known as 'EsiKhaleni', or the 'Place of the Sound', to the local Xhosa people.
Hole in the Wall, Eastern CapeSouth African Tourism
5. The local Xhosa people believe the arch is a gateway to the world of their ancestors.
