If you’re ever visiting Cape Town, South Africa, Table Mountain will be pretty hard to miss! This mountain is absolutely massive, and towers more than 1000m above Cape Town, with the city nestled below it.
We knew as soon as we arrived that we had to hike it!
There are several trails you can take to get up the mountain, but we decided to choose the most direct route: Platteklip Gorge.
We were told to anticipate a 2 hour hike to reach the top of Table Mountain, and most websites I checked said the same. However, we made it up in about an hour. Granted, we were probably some of the more fit hikers, but I’d think that you’d need to take frequent breaks for it to take 2 hours.
However, you might need to!
Another misconception is that this trail is “easy,” which I swear is what every brochure, pamphlet, and website said. While it’s not the hardest hike I’ve ever done, it’s pretty steep! And at 5’2, some of the steps required both of my hands to hoist myself up. So after about 30 minutes of intense lunges, we definitely started to take some breaks every 10 minutes or so.
The Platteklip Gorge trail is also in direct sunlight, so if you’re visiting when the temperatures are super high, I would recommend going early in the morning to avoid getting overheated. It was about 75 degrees Fahrenheit when we visited and we started early in the day, but I was still a sweaty Betty by the time we reached the top. I would definitely recommend lathering up on sunscreen, wearing a hat, and bringing a water bottle with you on your way up.
Still, the hike up is beautiful! Eventually, you’ll make your way to a divide in the mountain. That’s when you’ll know you’re really close!
At this point you’ll definitely be getting antsy, but I encourage you to look back down what you just hiked up. The view is breathtaking!
Just a few more minutes up, and you’ll reach the top of the mountain. Yay!
On top of the mountain, there is a gift shop, restaurant, snacks, and bathrooms. You can actually take a gondola up the mountain if you don’t want to make the hike, but I encourage you to hike if you’re able, as it makes the view so much more worth it.
The top of the mountain really is like a table. It’s very flat and you can walk for a long time, taking the views of the ocean and city of Cape Town around you. I think we wandered around the top for about 45 minutes, exploring, snacking, and taking photos.
From the top of table mountain, you can also see a smaller mountain known as Lion’s Head. This is also a very popular mountain to hike up, but we didn’t have time on our trip.
Though Table Mountain isn’t quite the most southern tip of Africa, it’s a pretty significant feeling to be staring into the ocean, knowing that there is nothing out there until you reach Antarctica.
All in all, I highly recommend doing the hike if you’re in Cape Town. If you feel like it might be a little difficult, don’t be afraid to go slowly and take your time. You can also check out some of the other trails, as there are both easier and more advanced trails than the one we chose.
I hope if you’re ever in South Africa, you get to visit Cape Town, and hike up the legendary Table Mountain!
samanthanowhere 