| To visit Cape Town without going up Table | | | | easy walks for just about anyone. The views are |
| Mountain would be like going to Paris and giving | | | | usually best in the early morning and at sunset. |
| the Eiffel Tower a miss. Table Mountain is Cape | | | | The Cableway leaves at intervals of ten or |
| Town's most iconic feature. It is the main | | | | twenty minutes, depending on the season and it |
| attraction of Table Mountain National Park, which | | | | does not operate when the weather is |
| covers 24,500 hectares - that's about 73 percent | | | | dangerously windy. Sometimes visibility is poor |
| of the entire Cape Peninsula. The park stretches | | | | due to a blanketing cloud called 'the tablecloth". |
| from Cape Point to Signal Hill, and includes Devil's | | | | You can call ahead to ask if the Cableway is |
| Peak, Lion's Head, the Silvermine Nature Reserve, | | | | operating and to inquire about weather conditions. |
| Boulders Beach, Tokai, and the Cape of Good | | | | Hiking and Climbing |
| Hope Nature Reserve. But as exciting as these | | | | Visitors who are looking for something a little |
| other attractions are, Table Mountain is the | | | | more rugged than a cable car ride will find that |
| singular most dramatic landmark that has drawn | | | | Table Mountain has hundreds of hiking trails. They |
| millions of visitors over the years. | | | | range from easy paths to extreme rock climbing. |
| A Place of Legend | | | | There are trails for mountain biking, too. For the |
| Towering 1088 metres above Cape Town, Table | | | | really adventurous - and physically fit - there are |
| Mountain is one of the oldest mountain formations | | | | several mountain climbing routes. They range |
| in the world - a granddaddy compared to young | | | | from the moderately difficult, such as Nursery |
| mountain ranges like the Alps and the Himalayas. | | | | Ravine, to the much more challenging India |
| It was a place of legend to the Khoisan people | | | | Fenster. |
| long before the first Europeans set eyes on it. | | | | Nature's Glory |
| From its summit, the views of Cape Town and | | | | The region is home to some 8200 plant species, |
| the sea are awe inspiring. In the dark days of | | | | several of which grow naturally nowhere else in |
| apartheid, the sight of Table Mountain from the | | | | the world. In Table Mountain National Park you can |
| prison on Robben Island was like a beacon of | | | | see king protea (the national floral emblem), |
| hope to Nelson Mandela and other incarcerated | | | | ericas, and restios. Be sure to wear long pants |
| men. | | | | when hiking, because a brush with the blister plant |
| Riding the Cableway | | | | can be a painful experience. Here you can also |
| About four million people a year visit Table | | | | see antelope, Cape mountain zebras, dassies, and |
| Mountain, including residents of the city on | | | | the rare Table Mountain ghost frog. You will also |
| weekend jaunts. Most of them take the easy | | | | likely see baboons. Obey the park rules, and do |
| way up on the Cableway and the views from the | | | | not feed them as Baboons are not known for |
| revolving car are absolutely spectacular. Once you | | | | good manners, and could spoil an otherwise |
| reach the top, there are scenic trails that are | | | | wonderful visit to Table Mountain National Park. |