Table Mountain In Cape Town, South Africa
Table mountain cable way was established in 1929 after much debate by the current city council. The community wanted a way to get there quickly. The ride takes about 6 minutes in total and every 15 minutes a cable car ascends the mountain. The cable car can take 65 people and rotates as you ascend the mountain. The views are spectacular and I would highly recommend taking a ride.NB Always take a jacket coat or jersey, as it is much colder when on top of Table Mountain. Queues are long in our summer season but it moves very quickly. The parking near the cable car entrance is hectic. Catch a really inexpensive ride with a RIKKI. (No parking worries) (And you can enjoy a bottle of Cape Town's finest wine when on top without worrying about your driving abilities) Once you arrive on top there are many pathways that you can follow. From these pathways you can enjoy many views of our beloved city. You can look out onto Tablebay,Cape Flats, and Robben Island. On a good day you can see as far as Somerset West. Obviously you can see False Bay as well. Should you wish to take a short walk there ,there are three main walks to choose from:
Dasie Walk: Views North, West and South.
Agama Walk: 360degree views of Cape Town and Cape Peninsula.
Klipspringer Walk: views of the Plateau edge and Platteklip Gorge.
Or just enjoy the 2 klms stretch of space above.
Fauna and Flora
Cape Town is famous for floral diversity. Fynbos is prevalent all over. Table Mountain has over 1500 species of plants that are endemic to the Cape alone.
Watch out for our famous dassie . They resemble a rabbit and at one stage the authorities wanted to rid Table Mountain of them as they are not a natural resident of Table Mountain.
There are many bird species as well. The black eagle, rock kestrel and sunbirds. I personally prefer the human Fauna, much more interesting.
Wheelchair Friendly
Table Mountain is wheel chair friendly.
Quick Fact Sheet
Cable car can take 65 passengers at a time.
The cable car carries up to 400 litres of water, which equates to 400 kgs of water in the tank below the floor to stabilize the cable car.
Takes 6 to 10 minutes to reach the station above.
The length of the cables are 1200 meters long.
The cables weigh 18 tonnes.
The height of table mountain is 1085 meters at its highest point.
The round cable car is aerodynamic and is incredible stable for the feint hearted.
The cable car works on a counterweight system weighing 134 tonnes each.
The cable car travels at 10 meters per second.
The cable car is Swiss made.
Table Mountain welcomes over 800000 visitors a year to its summit.
If you are a mountain climber it is always advisable to contact the Mountain Club of South Africa before you attempt a climbing ascent. There are over 350 recognized paths up the mountain.
Table Mountain Times - Summer: first car up at 8:00 am last car down 21:30 pm.
The cable car was opened in 1929.
There are official guided tours everyday at 10:00 am and 12:00pm.
Price to summit is R130 per adult and R68 per child under 18.
