| Barkly East | |
| Native Name: | Barkly-Oos |
| Pushpin Map: | South Africa Eastern Cape#South Africa#Africa |
| Coordinates: | -30.9681°N 27.5933°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | South Africa |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Eastern Cape |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Joe Gqabi |
| Subdivision Type3: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name3: | Senqu |
| Subdivision Type4: | Main Place |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Established Date: | 1873[1] |
| Leader Title: | Councillor |
| Area Footnotes: | [2] |
| Area Total Km2: | 16.80 |
| Elevation M: | 1790 |
| Population Total: | 9986 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Racial makeup (2011) |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Black African |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 90.4% |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Coloured |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 6.2% |
| Demographics1 Title3: | Indian/Asian |
| Demographics1 Info3: | 0.2% |
| Demographics1 Title4: | White |
| Demographics1 Info4: | 2.9% |
| Demographics1 Title5: | Other |
| Demographics1 Info5: | 0.3% |
| Demographics Type2: | First languages (2011) |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Xhosa |
| Demographics2 Info1: | 74.6% |
| Demographics2 Title2: | Sotho |
| Demographics2 Info2: | 11.7% |
| Demographics2 Title3: | Afrikaans |
| Demographics2 Info3: | 8.6% |
| Demographics2 Title4: | English |
| Demographics2 Info4: | 2.6% |
| Demographics2 Title5: | Other |
| Demographics2 Info5: | 2.5% |
| Timezone1: | SAST |
| Utc Offset1: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code (street) |
| Postal Code: | 9786 |
| Postal2 Code Type: | PO box |
| Postal2 Code: | 9786 |
| Area Code Type: | Area code |
| Area Code: | 045-971- |
| Website: | www.barklyeast.co.za |
Barkly East (Afrikaans: Barkly-Oos) is a town in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, seat of the Joe Gqabi District Municipality, and 117 km by road E.S.E. of Aliwal North, lying in the mountainous area just south of Lesotho. The town lies at the southern tip of the Drakensberg on the Langkloofspruit, a tributary of the Kraai River which, in turn is a tributary of the Orange River at an elevation of 1 790 meter (5 873 foot) above sealevel. Barkly East is characterized by rugged mountains and green valleys. Snow falls in winter, and the hamlet of Rhodes is 60 km or an hour's drive from Barkly East on the R396. Both are within the boundaries of the Senqu Local Municipality.
It has been one of the few areas in South Africa where winter sports are pursued, and in summer fly fishing for Rainbow trout and indigenous Smallmouth yellowfish, trail running, mountain biking, rock paintings by the San people, tennis and the magnificent scenery draw tourists to the district.
Xhosa and Afrikaans are spoken by most of the inhabitants, while English and some Sotho are also spoken. The primary economic base of the district is sheep-farming.
Like Barkly West, the town is named after Sir Henry Barkly,[3] [4] governor of the Cape Colony from 1870 to 1877. On 14 December 1874 the then-Governor, Sir Henry Barkly proclaimed that a town could split from Wodehouse.
Barkly East has a subtropical highland climate (Cwb, according to the Köppen climate classification), with mild summers and chilly, dry winters, with occasional snowfalls. It borders on a cold semi-arid climate (BSk). The average annual precipitation is 567mm, with most rainfall occurring during summer.