Located between Paarl and Worcester in the south-west of South Africa, 70 kilometres (43 mi) to the north-east of the provincial capital of Cape Town, the mountains form a formidable barrier between Cape Town and the rest of Africa.

The N1 highway, also called the Cape to Cairo Road crosses them at the Du Toitskloof Pass.

The old route culminated at 820 metres (2,690 ft); however, the new Huguenot Tunnel, of 3.7 kilometres (2.3 mi) in length, cuts out the old mountain pass.

Structurally, the mountains form part of the Cape Syntaxis, a complex portion of the Cape Fold Belt where the north-south trending ranges meet the east-west trending ranges in a complex series of folds and thrusts.

Precipitation occurs primarily in the winter months as rain on the lower slopes and as snow higher up, usually above 1000m.