Table mountain, the South African icon

Info

Short trips to the Table mountain include a cable car ride, fresh water and, optionally, a tasty lunch.

A fully organized 2-days safari tour in the Table mountain national park will take you from Cape Town over Table mountain and Cape peninsula to the famous Cape of Good hope, the dismay of sailors and a wet grave to many of them. En route, you'll visit African penguins at Boulder's Beach. You will spend the night either camping or relaxing in a lodge.

Details

Table Mountain, Afrikaans Tafelberg, is a flat-topped mountain in southwestern South Africa. It dominates the northern end of the high, rocky Cape Peninsula and overlooks Cape Town and Table Bay. Horizontal layers of sandstone exposed to strong winds and water erosion resulted in its tabular shape. Table Mountain often has a cloud cover, the Tablecloth. It forms rapidly when the wind blows from the southeast. The lush vegetation at the plateau results from the Tablecloth cover.

There are more than 350 trails to get to the top of it. The summit at 1086 m, called Maclear’s Beacon can also be reached by the famous cable-car (it actually stops at 1 067m so you will have to walk a little to the highest point), that took millions of people to its top since 1929 when it was built. The cable cars take four to five minutes to reach the top of the mountain. But don't worry, even in this short time, you'll enjoy the abundance of views since the floor of the circular cabin rotates a 360°. Are you visiting in the month of your birth? Congratulations, you are entitled to a free ride!