Senekal is a town situated on the banks of the Sand River in the eastern part of the Free State province of South Africa. It was named after Commandant FP Senekal. It is the second largest town in Setsoto Municipality after Ficksburg, the largest town and capital of Setsoto. Senekal lies on the N5 national road between Winburg on the west and Bethlehem to the east. It has two townships, Matwabeng and OR Tambo Section, the latter being the latest, largest and fastest growing.
Senekal is the second largest town in the Eastern Free State after Ficksburg, but it is has an economy primarily based on agriculture and animal husbandry, with little to offer in the way of tourism besides charming, panoramic rural surrounds and farms and old Victorian buildings and farmhouses. If you are travelling the Riemland Route however, Senekal is well worth a stop to view the Sandstone Church in the centre of the town. Built in 1896, the NG Church has been declared a National Monument for both its intrinsic heritage and for its very unusual fence made from a petrified tree. According to scientists, these tree trunks are approximately 250 million years old. The fossils were removed at the Sand River, west of Senekal.