Information on Ixopo, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Ixopo is a small town located in the Midlands of the KwaZulu-Natal Province. It is an important forestry and sugar farming area. Ixopo was originally called Stuartstown, the name is derived from a Zulu word describing the sound made as cattle squelch through mud.

Ixopo is most famously described by Alan Paton in the opening lines of Cry, The Beloved Country: "There is a lovely road which runs from Ixopo into the hills. These hills are grass covered and rolling, and they are lovely beyond any singing of it." Ixopo is also well known for

The Buddhist Retreat Centre, one of the foremost Buddhist centres in the country.