Swartkops is a village situated on the Swartkops River in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, approximately 11 km north of Gqeberha (formerly known as Port Elizabeth) and 1.6 km from the Indian Ocean.
Swartkops village falls within the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality.
Swartkops means “black hills” in Afrikaans, and the name is said to refer to surrounding hillocks crested with dark shadows.
A railway junction was built here by the Cape Government Railways in 1872, to service the lines being constructed to Alicedale and Makhanda (formerly known as Grahamstown) in the east, Port Elizabeth (officially renamed Gqeberha) to the south, and Uitenhage (officially renamed Kariega) to the west.
The main route through Swartkops is Grahamstown Road (R102 Regional Route), which leads southwards to Deal Party and Gqeberha (formerly known as Port Elizabeth) and northwards to Motherwell and Markman.
The M17 Metropolitan Route, named Dibanisa Road, passes Swartkops to the west, running northwards to Markman and southwards to iBhayi. The M19 route, named Trunk Road, passes Swartkops to the south, running westwards to Redhouse, Perseverance, Despatch, and Kariega (formerly known as Uitenhage).
