The impressive Cala Pass winds its way up a deep cleft in the mountains north of the village of Cala gaining 335 metres in altitude over 7.3 km, producing a gradient of 1:22 with some sections at 1:9. This a reasonably safe road for most vehicles, but it is a high altitude pass and is subject to winter snowfalls, heavy summer electrical storms and regular mountain mists. It is one of four passes along the R410 between Queenstown and Elliot, forming a set of giant stepping stones towards the high altiude part of the Eastern Cape around Elliot (Khowa).
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