thumb|250x250px|R56 between [[Steynsburg and Molteno in the Eastern Cape]]
The R56 is a provincial route in South Africa that connects Middelburg with Pietermaritzburg via Molteno, Maclear and Kokstad. It is co-signed with the N2 between Kokstad and Stafford's Post for 39 kilometres.
The R56 is known for being part of the shortest route between Cape Town in the Western Cape and Durban in KwaZulu-Natal. There are 12 main towns on the R56, namely Middelburg Karoo, Steynsburg, Molteno, Dordrecht, Khowa, Ugie, Maclear, Matatiele, Kokstad, Ixopo, Richmond and Pietermaritzburg.
Route
Eastern Cape
The R56 begins in the Middelburg town centre, at a junction with Meintjies Street. West of this junction, it is the R398 road. It begins by going eastwards to form an intersection with the N9 & N10 national route co-signage.