Table Mountain

A Trip to the Top of Table Mountain (72 images)
Table Mountain, Cape Town's most popular attraction, is a 3,562 foot flat-topped mountain of shale, sandstone and granite that stands behind Cape Town and gives it a backdrop that causes many world travelers to call Cape Town the most beautiful city in the world. From the top of the mountain one can look down at Cape Town spilling over the rambling hills and cliffs, and it is said that no trip to this beautiful city is complete without going up to the top.

At a cost of about $16 one can go to the top in a cable car that takes four minutes. Since 1929 a funicular has been carrying locals and tourists to the top of the mountain where the flat table area is over two miles long. The present system has been in operation since 1997.

Passengers are carried to the top in a 65 passenger circular cabin with a rotating floor. In the four minutes it takes to get to the top the floor makes a complete circle allowing the people inside to see the view all the way around. The places at the very front and very back have no windows to allow for photos.

The car is normally filled with potable water at the bottom that gives the car ballast and better stability in the winds. When the winds are normal, the tank of water is emptied at the top and is used by the restaurant there.

The cable car station is located part way up the mountain so a drive up the pig tail roads is the first part of the adventure. On the day we went, the road was packed with parked cars at least a mile or two down from the station because clouds had covered the mountain for a few days prior.

From the top one can see for miles.

Click a picture to see a larger view.

Climbing to the Cable Car Station