Table Mountain Hikes

The City of Cape Town is nestled between the cold Atlantic Ocean and one of the icons of Africa, the breathtakingly beautiful Table Mountain. Some choose to reach the summit of this majestic mountain in the ease and luxury of a cable car, but for those who can take a little pain for a whole lot of pleasure, hiking to the top brings with it a sense of achievement, fun and many deep gulps of fresh mountain air.

What is remarkable is there are literally hundreds of different routes up this glorious and ever-changing 'berg'. Each aspect of Table Mountain has very different panoramic vistas and indigenous flora and fauna, so the intrepid rambler will never tire of this mountain chain that forms the backbone of the Cape Peninsula and stretches some 50 km south to the very tip of the continent, Cape Point.

Platteklip Gorge

One of the oldest paths up the face of the mountain is Platteklip Gorge, where stone stairs have been hewn out of the different levels of rock that form this mesa-like mount - Malmesbury shale, Cape granite and Table Mountain sandstone. It is the most straight forward route up to the top cable station, or the Front Table as the face of Table Mountain is called, but it is also the most exposed to both the harsh African sun and the brutally forceful South Easter wind.

Getting to the start of the hike is really easy, simply follow the signs to the cableway in your rental car and once you are on Tafelberg road it is about 3 km further on that you will see a clearly marked sign directing you to the steep and unforgiving path that just keeps going up and up! Once on the top though, you will be delighted with the awesome views of the City below and across the bay to Robben Island and beyond. Coming down the same way can be really vicious on your knees, so you might want to chose to opt for the cable car back instead.

Skeleton Gorge

A popular route up the eastern face of the mountain is Skeleton Gorge. This time hikers will find themselves in rich indigenous forests where cool streams and waterfalls are commonplace and shade is the order of the day. The highlight of this hike is the abundance of fynbos and other indigenous vegetation untouched by the bustling city below.

The path starts in the world famous Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, so before you even start to imbibe the delights of the hike, you will be dumbfounded by the glory of the gardens that date back to time immemorial. The gardens are adequately signposted so finding your way to the start of the trail should not be problematic.

Instead of re-tracing your steps all the way down again, try a new route and hook up to the path that will take you down Nursery Ravine - you will find yourselves back in the Floral Kingdom that is Kirstenbosch!

These two hikes are only a small taste of all the adventures and tourist attractions in Cape Town to be undertaken in your hired car from Reeds Car Rental Cape Town.