Cape Town’s most iconic attraction – As one of Cape Town’s most visited attractions, Table Mountain sure paints a pretty picture, and you don’t have to enjoy it from the ground. Fondly referred to as ‘the tabletop’, Table Mountain’s summit offers up breathtaking views of the entire city and coastline, stretching as far as the eye can see. The best part is that you don’t have to hike to the top to enjoy these views either.

Simply hop off the City Sightseeing Red Bus at the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway and enjoy a ride to the top of the mountain in a revolving cable car, with amazing 360-degree views of Cape Town as it ferries you to the top. The Table Mountain Aerial Cableway is by far the easiest and most memorable way to make it to the top.

Located on a World Heritage site, the cable car has been providing world-class trips to locals and visitors for over 90 years! Riding the cable car is an unmissable experience, and when you reach the top, you’ll be amazed by the grandeur of the views from Table Mountain. If you’re keen to stretch your legs, you can explore any of the many hiking trails that meander along the summit or join the nature reserve guides for a guided walking tour. The summit also boasts a cafe and curio store if you’re feeling peckish or would like to take some souvenirs and gifts home with you.

It’s easy to see why the early explorers fell in love with what would come to be the City of Cape Town. As ships turned the oftentimes stormy corner of the coast, they’d be greeted by the sanctuary of the bay, with Table Mountain looming overhead. Even today, the wonder that is its flat top is awe-inspiring, and what gave it its name. Table Mountain supports much fauna and flora that can’t be found anywhere else, adding to the beauty and importance of this natural wonder. Here are some little-known facts about the mountain.

• In the last decade, Table Mountain was officially voted and named one of the new 7 Wonders of Nature.
• A railway line was built on the top of the mountain in the 1870s, with a steam engine that would ferry supplies to the 5 dams that dot the summit. This locomotive, the materials, and the manpower used to be lifted to the summit by ropeways in Camps Bay, and the anchors for these can still be seen today.
• The Table Mountain Aerial Cableway is thus not the first station to ferry people to the top. The anchors mark the location of the old Top Station, where people and materials were lifted to the top.
• Table Mountain has its own museum! The Waterworks Museum is found at the Northern side of the summit near the dams and houses the still well-preserved narrow-gauge steam engine that used to run there.
• The Cableway was originally intended to be a second railway, a funicular that would follow tracks to the summit. Construction for this was interrupted by the 1st World War in 1912, and Norwegian engineer Trygve Stromsoe proposed the use of a cable car instead. This sparked the construction of the cableway we know today. It was completed in October 1929.
• Table Mountain is grand enough to be the only terrestrial feature with a constellation named after it! In the Southern Hemisphere, below Orion, you can spot the constellation ‘Mensa’, meaning ‘The Table’. You can see it around midnight in mid-July.

Table Mountain Aerial Cableway
Tafelberg Rd, Gardens, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa

NOTE: Closed for annual maintenance from 15 July – 1 September 2024

Hours: Refer to their website for further details

Phone: +27 (0)21 424 8181
Website: www.tablemountain.net

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DID YOU KNOW

The original Table Mountain Cableway opened for business on 4 October 1929, transporting millions of visitors to its smooth summit. One noteworthy visitor was HRM Queen Elizabeth II.