One of the world’s most famous peaks, Table Mountain towers over Cape Town and its surrounds, and provides multiple experiences for those keen to explore it. You can’t miss Table Mountain, wherever you happen to be in Cape Town: this famous peak looms high above the city, sometimes shrouded in cloud (its “tablecloth”), other times gloriously clear. It always, however, invites exploration.
For those keen to get to the top and back in the fastest, easiest way possible, the Cableway is the obvious choice, a five-minute journey that ascends 765 metres. The Cableway was established in 1929; the current iteration, a Swiss-built “Rotair”, was installed in 1997, and more than a million people use it every year. (Note, there’s a more expensive “Fast Track” ticket option here, which will help avoid the queues, which lengthen throughout the day.
) Got a little more time on your hands, and fancy a challenge? Then forgo the comfort and ease of the Cableway and instead ascend Table Mountain on your own two feet. The hike from the base of the Cableway (where most people leave their cars) to the summit is relatively short, at 2.5 kilometres on the well-maintained, easy-to-follow Skeleton Gorge track.
It takes most people between one and two hours. If you prefer to save your knees from a long descent, it’s possible to buy a one-way ticket down on the Cableway. There’s much to see at the summit of Table Mountain, which, as you can probably tell from the name, is a wide pla.