Table Mountain

No trip to Cape Town is complete with out visiting Table Mountain. It sits over looking the city and provides majestic ocean, beach and city views.

This enchanting mountain has been a landmark for centuries, and getting to the top was looked upon as a goal set only by adventurers and explorers. Stories told about Table Mountain were steeped in mystery and wonder.  The first officially recorded climb to the top was done by Admiral Antonio de Saldanha in 1503. Although today the spectacular view from the top is still one of the world’s biggest tourist destinations, the climb is no longer sought after only by professional hikers.

Today there are a variety of ways to get to the top of Table Mountain. If doing a day hike isn’t your thing, then you can always take the cable car which runs at various times of the day.  Details of times and prices can be found on the table mountain website.

So What’s So Special About Table Mountain?

I’m glad you asked 🙂

  • Cape Fynbos – The entire mountain is rich in Cape Fynbos, a type of low lying shrub/bush environment that grows nowhere else on earth except in the Western Cape of South Africa
  • World Heritage Site – It is listed as a world heritage site and enjoys special protection for some of the 2,200 plant species that can be found there.
  • Animal / Wildlife – The mountain is rich in animal variety with snakes, dassies, spiders, porcupines, mongooses and tortoises all readily found on the mountain.
  • What Is Table Mountain Made Of? – Table Mountain stands at 1,086-meter (3,563-foot) and is made up of sandstone (which is often called Table Mountain Sandstone, TMS) and granite.
  • The Table Mountain Ariel Cableway – Whilst there are many stunning hikes which can take you to the top of mountain, these can take a minimum of 2hrs. Instead why not ride the cable car (weather dependent) and zip to the top of the mountain in 5 minutes!
  • New7Wonders of Nature – In 2012 Table Mountain was voted one of the New7Wonders of Nature – it was placed in the top 7 out of 77 by popular vote!
  • Africa’s Leading Tourist Attraction 2021 – For the 3rd year in a row and 4th overall it was voted as Africa’s top tourist destination ( https://www.worldtravelawards.com/award-africas-leading-tourist-attraction-2021)

The ariel cableway provides amazing and unique images of Table Mountain and Cape Towns CBD below and beautiful ocean views across Table bay.

Important Contacts For Table Mountain

  • https://tablemountain.net/ – The official website for the cableway – all the latest information on price, weather conditions and the latest operating hours
  • https://www.sanparks.org/parks/table_mountain/ – The official Table Mountain national park website.
  • Directions to Table Mountain – The mountain sits directly over the central city district in Cape Town and is very easy to get to. The easiest way to visit the mountain is to head up Kloof Nek Road from the city and turn onto Tafelberg Road which will then take you to the base station of the cableway.
  • Cableway advice – Always check the cableway website to see if it is running as high winds or low cloud cover could effect your trip!