Table Mountain Aerial Cableway

Photo courtesy Ryan Whisner

Take a five-minute cable car ride and enjoy spectacular 360-degree views of Cape Town from the top of Table Mountain, the city’s most famous icon.

The Table Mountain Aerial Cableway (www.tablemountain.net) takes visitors to the summit of Table Mountain in about five minutes. The cable car’s rotating floor and huge windows ensure that all passengers get a 360-degree aerial view as they head up the mountain.

The cableway was first launched in 1929. Since then, many upgrades have taken place, and today the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway has state-of-the-art facilities and a well-established safety record. 

The two cable cars in operation take 4 to 5 minutes to reach the top of Table Mountain, travelling at a speed of about 10m (33ft) per second. The height of Table Mountain (at its highest point) is 1086m (3560ft) and the views from the top reach all the way to Robben Island and beyond.

There are a number of short walks that you can take once on the top of Table Mountain, including the Dassie Walk (great views north, west and south), the Agama Walk (a popular route that gives you 360-degree views of Cape Town and Cape Peninsula) and the Klipspringer Walk (wonderful views along the plateau). You can also choose to spend the better part of a day hiking all the way along the top of the mountain and down to the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, one of the world’s largest and most beautiful botanical gardens, or even further along, to the Silvermine Nature Reserve.

Table Mountain is known for its rich biodiversity and is home to about 2000 species of plants (more than the number found throughout the entire British Isles), most of them fynbos, which forms one of the world’s six plant kingdoms all on its own.

Table Mountain Café is a self-service style canteen on Table Mountain where you can enjoy food and refreshments. The café recently introduced compostable plates and containers for food instead of regular, washable plates, thus conserving about 20000 litres of water a day. The containers are made of organic material that turn into water, carbon dioxide and compost. They form part of the Cableway’s activites to reduce the human ecological footprint on the environment.

Newcomers to Cape Town should have a trip up Table Mountain at the top of their holiday itinerary, since this exciting trip not only provides a spectacular view of the city, but also gives visitors a sense of orientation in terms of the Cape Peninsula.

The lower cable station is located at the western end of Table Mountain. The City Sightseeing bus, a taxi (about R60 one way) or Rikki (about R20 per person) from the CBD will take you to the departure point, or if you’re using your own transport, take Buitengracht Street towards the mountain. After crossing Camp Street, Buitengracht becomes Kloof Nek Road. Follow Kloof Nek Road to a traffic circle, then turn left at Tafelberg Road and follow the signs to the cableway.

The cable cars depart every 10 to 15 minutes.

The cableway operates only when weather permits and does not take bookings. Tickets can only be purchased on the day of your visit at the lower station ticket office or online (a better option, particularly on busy days, as the queue for those with online tickets is shorter). It is freely accessible to people with disabilities, and there are dedicated wheelchair bays at the lower cable station. Visit the cableway’s website to check the weather conditions and whether it’s running or not (it’s kept regularly updated), and to purchase online tickets: www.tablemountain.net.

If you would prefer to hike up the mountain, contact the Cape Town Tourism Visitor Information Centre at the Lower Cableway Station to book a registered guide or tour operator. You can book any tour, accommodation and transport from this centre including making reservations for all South African National Parks. Pop in to buy your City Sightseeing bus ticket, use the complimentary phone to contact a Rikki cab, or just to find out more from our friendly team.

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