Bethlehem travel guide

The town was founded in 1864 on a farm known as Pretoriuskloof. It is the principal town of the Eastern Free State, an important wheat-growing area and one of South Africa’s biggest exporters of roses. It is also where South Africa’s national hot-air balloon race is held in May each year. A prominent local church minister, FP Naude, gave the settlement its name, reflecting the fact that the first settlers found that wheat flourished in the fertile Jordan Valley. It is a large town with a good range of restaurants and accommodation, but there is little here for the visitor apart from some fine examples of early sandstone buildings. The Dihlabeng Municipality tourist office 9 Muller St, T058-303 5732, www. dihlabeng.org.za, Mon-Sat 0830-1300, 1400-1600, has a good range of brochures, including a map of the Sandstone Walking Tour 1½ hrs, which takes you around the old buildings.

The Museum of Cultural History in the former Nazareth Mission Church at the top end of Muller St, T058-303 3477, Fri 1000-1230, 1430-1700, has a collection depicting the region’s local history, with an early steam locomotive in the grounds.