Formosa Peak

Formosa Peak or Peak Formosa is the highest point of the Tsitsikamma Mountains, a coastal range located along the Garden Route in South Africa, and forming part of the Baviaanskloof Mega Reserve.

The peak was first mapped in 1576 during a voyage by the Portuguese navigator and cartographer, Manuel de Mesquita Perestrelo, when his ship put in at Plettenberg Bay, which he named Bahia Formosa or "beautiful bay".^[2] The peak, which is visible from the bay, had been named Formosa by the earlier Portuguese explorer, Bartolomeu Dias, in 1488. This was corrupted to Moses, a name still used for the region north of the mountain.^[2] Perestrelo, a survivor of the 1554 wrecking of the Portuguese carrack, the São Bento off Msikaba on the Wild Coast, wrote an account of the disaster.^[3]

Because of its elevation and sweeping views, Formosa Peak is a popular hiking destination, the normal road approach being from the north via Langkloof and farm tracks.^[1] Although not technically difficult and requiring only steep scrambling, the hiking route follows a narrow ridge with precipitous drops on either side and along some sections, a fall would prove fatal. A recent death on 2 January 2013 was that of Ken Webb, a 72-year-old experienced hiker from Plettenberg Bay, who fell while descending the mountain.^[4][5]