South Africa guide › South Africa's landscapes and hikes
How to get up Table Mountain: cable car or hike?
Either works, and plenty of people do both: walk up Platteklip Gorge, then ride the cable car down and spare your knees. The cableway lifts you more than 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in about five minutes, in a cabin whose floor slowly rotates; the hike is a steep two to three hours with no technical difficulty.
Table Mountain is the flat-topped massif behind Cape Town, topping out at 1,086 m (3,563 ft) at Maclear's Beacon. It sits inside Table Mountain National Park, and its fynbos (the Cape's own shrubland of proteas, heaths and reeds) is one of the richest plant communities on Earth.
Your four main ways up:
- The cable car (Table Mountain Aerial Cableway) from Tafelberg Road: R475 (about US$29) return when booked online, R300 (about US$18) one way, R530 (about US$32) return at the ticket office; children aged 4 to 17 pay R230 (about US$14) return online, under-4s ride free.
- Platteklip Gorge: the most direct route, straight up a gorge on rough stone steps; two to three hours and roughly 700 m (2,300 ft) of ascent.
- India Venster: more dramatic, climbing beneath the cable line, with sections of easy scrambling; skip it if you dislike heights, and go with a guide the first time.
- Skeleton Gorge: from Kirstenbosch botanical garden on the far side, with ladders and streams; allow about three hours.
On top, short marked loops start from the upper station, with views over Table Bay, Robben Island, Lion's Head and the whole peninsula. Walking onto the plateau by the main trails is free.
The catch is the wind. When the south-easter blows hard, the cableway closes, sometimes for days, and the famous 'tablecloth' cloud can blanket the summit. The cableway's official website shows its status in real time. Get to the lower station by Uber or Bolt, or take the MyCiTi bus to Kloof Nek: parking on Tafelberg Road fills up fast in summer. The southern summer (November to March, your winter if you're in Europe or North America) brings the driest days; June to August is Cape Town's rainy season.
Muggings are occasionally reported on the trails, so hike in a group, start early, leave valuables at your hotel and tell someone your route. The weather turns quickly at altitude: carry a jacket and at least 2 litres (half a gallon) of water, as there's none on Platteklip.
Verdict: take the cable car for the view without the effort, or with kids; if you're fit, hike up Platteklip and ride down. To see Table Mountain itself, climb neighbouring Lion's Head (one to one and a half hours up, with a few chains), which is magical at sunset. For the rest of the city, see our Cape Town guide.
Tip: go up on the first clear, calm day you have, even if it wasn't on the plan. You can't book good weather in Cape Town, and the cableway may stay shut for the rest of your stay.
Information checked in November 2026 (cableway fares valid until 30 June 2027); confirm before you travel.