This picture was taken during my Table Mountain hike, towards the end of one of the trails, approximately 100 feet (30 meters) from the top of the mountain, or what I termed the ‘cloud level’. I had started the hike around 7 AM and reached the location in the picture, known as Platteklip Gorge, around 9 AM, drenched in sweat but indescribably happy to have finally reached the top of this towering summit I had seen looming over me for the last week in Cape Town. Considering the fact that my activity for the last two months had involved 1) walking around cities and 2) moving my arm in a repetitive motion from plates of heaped Brazilian meats to my mouth, I was pretty happy with my time. So even if you’ve never hiked in your life, Table Mountain has many doable trails.
The views at the top are breathtaking, and thanks to the mountain’s unique flat-top surface, once I reached the top I could easily walk around on level ground and see all of Cape Town spill out from the mountain’s base underneath.
Here are the different trails you can take, depending on how active you are and how long/difficult a hike you want. Minimum time to reach the summit is probably around 2 hours, and if you want to hike a longer trail or also walk around the top to Maclear’s Beacon, you can hike for up to 5-6 hours.
What’s the best or most rewarding climb you’ve ever done? Share!