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Category: Cape Town Guide

There’s the quintessential Cape Town hike: to the top of Table Mountain. If you’ve already done it, or want some more off-the-beaten-track options, try these hikes:
Hike up Lion’s Head on a full moon night for incredible moonlit views of the city, or in Silvermine Nature Reserve for sweeping vistas across Noordhoek and False Bay. Table Mountain National Park, part of the Cape Floral Kingdom World Heritage Site, has a myriad trails to explore and coastal walks aplenty. Add in some strolls in Newlands Forest, Kirstenbosch and through the city and you’re spoilt for choice. Green Point promenade This wonderful, four-kilometre stroll is ideal for families and dogwalkers and there are benches all the way along where you can stop to watch the world go by. The prom has a great vibe, particularly early morning and late afternoon when walkers and joggers head out for a little fresh air. Park at Mouille Point Lighthouse and scan the ocean before heading off; you may see Cape fur seals, dolphins and whales, which come close to the shore between June and December. The paved walkway leads past various playgrounds, a putt-putt course, an outdoor gym and good swimming spots before ending in Bantry Bay. Kasteelspoort No piece on hiking in the Cape would be complete without a route up Table Mountain. Kasteelspoort is a straightforward, 2,2-kilometre, one-way trail from Theresa Avenue in Camps Bay. It’s unshaded and affords incredible views, but it can get very hot in summer, so it’s best in the early morning or late afternoon when Lion’s Head and Twelve Apostles glow burnt orange in the evening light. The fynbos is magnificent at any time of year, but this trail is particularly spectacular in spring when the lower slopes are a mass of pink watsonia. If you’ve left a car on Tafelberg Road, continue to the Upper Cable Station, then hike down Platteklip Gorge or take the cable car. Muizenberg to St James The concrete walkway along the False Bay coast is an easy 3,4-kilometre return walk. It starts at Muizenberg Station and winds along the coast, past the colourful beach huts and tidal pool at St James, before ending at a sandy beach just beyond the railway station. The spray of crashing waves, the dramatic mountain backdrop and rock pools full of mussels, anemones and other marine life are just some of the attractions. Return the same way or walk back along the main road (called the Historical Mile), enjoying the grand old buildings on the way. Blackburn Ravine This gentle, 4.6-kilometre walk on the mountains overlooking Hout Bay is ideal for dog-walkers. Start at the East Fort car park just before the Chapman’s Peak Drive tollbooth. The fort itself is worth a quick look before you head up the steps, then turn left onto a wide gravel path. This is the only strenuous part of the route; for the rest you follow an old forestry road as it climbs gently, then contours around the mountain. There’s no shade until you reach a riverine forest in the ravine. There’s perennial water in a weir here, so it’s a lovely place to sit and cool off. If you’re feeling strong, you can continue up to the lookout deck at the top of Blackburn Ravine, but it’s a stiff climb. Otherwise enjoy the forest and return the way you came. Sex and Slaves in the City If you’re looking for a walk with a difference, try this two-hour tour of the central area. Guides paint a fascinating picture of Cape Town in the early days and the relationship between the slaves and their so-called masters, through entertaining rhyme and street theatre. Tours start at the Old Town House at 10h00 daily, except Sundays A well-kept hiking secret, Tranquillity Cracks is a series of deep, cave-like crevasses cut into the sandstone of Table Mountain’s Twelve Apostles above Koeëlbaai near Slangolie Buttress in Table Mountain National Park, above Camps Bay. A gnarled yellowwood guards the entrance to a cleft that leads deep into an outcrop known as Slangolie Face. Disregard side passageways and continue to a grassy enclosure surrounded by weirdly shaped rocks. Peep over the side and behold the Apostles marching northwards with the sharp point of Lion’s Head beyond them and Camps Bay far below. Getting there: walk along the Pipe Track above Camps Bay, then up Woody Ravine. Once on top, take the trail southwards. Not long after a rocky scramble past Slangolie Ravine, keep a lookout for a small rock cairn on your right. Follow the overgrown path to your right towards the rock face. GPS S33°58.811; E18°23.012. If you’re looking for a walk with a difference, try Sex and Slaves in the City, a two-hour tour of the central Cape Town. Guides paint a fascinating picture of Cape Town in the early days and the relationship between the slaves and their so-called masters, through entertaining rhyme and street theatre. For a walk that’s not about views, do an underground tour of Cape Town from Buitkenkant Street to the Castle of Good Hope. Not for the claustrophobic!