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 plateau.
The area is crisscrossed with paved paths and rougher, unpaved trails, which lead visitors to a series of lookouts, each commanding an incredible view of Cape Town and its surrounds, all the way across Table Mountain National Park down to the Cape of Good Hope. Keep an eye out for dassies too, furry little creatures that are the most common animals to spot here, not to mention some beautiful wildflowers. Though visitors are more than welcome to explore the summit on their own, there are also free, 30-minute guided tours offered twice daily, at 9am and 3pm.
These family-friendly walks take in a few viewpoints and include information about the national park and the cableway. Our advice: do the tour in the morning, as afternoons can get very busy. If you want to eat at the top of Table Mountain and you haven’t packed your own provisions, you will be just fine: there are four eating and drinking options at the summit, and another at the base of the Cableway.
Up top, grab a full meal or just a snack at TEN67; take coffee and cake at Table Mountain Cafe; have an Aperol spritz with a view at Kloud Bar; or sample a few local wines at Views by De Grendel. Down the bottom, meanwhile, Tap Bar has local craft beers with a view. There are more than one way to hike Table Mountain, and you’re sure to find a pathway suitable for your level of fitness and enthusiasm.
Skeleton Gorge is the easiest climb, though there’s also the Platteklip Gorge trail, a round trip of about six kilometres; the India Venster trail, a three kilometre climb to the top that’s very challenging in parts; the Kasteelspoort trail, an 11.5 kilometre loop skirting the side of the mountain; and Maclear’s Beacon trail, a family-friendly 10 kilometre loop from the lower cableway station. While there are undoubtedly spectacular views of Cape Town and surrounds from the summit of Table Mountain, there’s one landmark you won’t be able to see from there: Table Mountain.
For an amazing view of the mountain itself, with Cape Town and the harbour spread before it, head over to the suburb of Table View, in the city’s north, which offers what you would expect. The writer travelled at his own expense. See southafrica.
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