Travelogue from South Africa: How to conquer Table Mountain

In November 2023, Kenneth, our booking specialist, was in South Africa. Read about his adventures in Cape Town here.

The alarm went off at 3.30 am. And although my body was a little tired and my eyes were still sleepy, I felt a real sense of excitement. Today was the day I’d be climbing a mountain!

The mountain in question was Table Mountain, located just south of Cape Town. With its height of 1,086 metres, I’d spotted the mountain on the horizon several times during the days we’d already spent in and around the city. And now I was ready to see it right up close.

By 4 am, I was standing at the reception wearing hiking trousers, a jacket and the gear you needed on such a spring morning when it was still cold in Cape Town. Our guide Pierre, also known as Pete, was already there. An older man with a clear enthusiasm for the mountain, he was at the ready with poles and food for the trip, which we quickly shared between us. The food consisted of apples, various bars, nuts and sweets. We had also arranged for the hotel to provide us with a full breakfast to go. I was therefore fully convinced that it would probably be enough for the 2.5-3 hour hike up through the gorge.

At 5 am, there we were, still in the dark, at the bottom of the path and ready to start the ascent up Platteklip Gorge.

The Platteklip Gorge trail is an ascent of around 2.6 km on the south side of Table Moutain. A relatively hard and intense hike, but the shortest route to the top. There was only one way for me this morning and that was up!

Pete was a storyteller. He started the tour by talking about the mountain, the myths, the wildlife and nature on this side of the mountain and only stopped with his stories when we reached the top. His stories were delivered with such enthusiasm and empathy that I took an instant liking to him and his stories.

We climbed at a leisurely pace, where everyone in the group of 5 people I was in could keep up. We had headlamps for the first hour, but the pretty light from the streets of the still-sleeping Cape Town was right behind us, so we never felt completely alone in the dark.

After a short break, when the light gradually broke through, we were able to drop the lamps and enjoy the slowly rising sun that came up just above the top of the mountain. When we turned around, we could see how the sun shone in a beautiful symphony of colour and light over Cape Town.

When the peak was visible a few metres above us, Pete stopped us so that we could take some amazing photos while he crept up to the top and prepared for our ascent to be immortalised in pictures and video.

The most beautiful view awaited us at the vantage point the top, where we could see from Hauk Bay to Lions Head and from there to Cape Town’s beautiful seafront, and beyond that, Robben Island.

It was an amazing sight to enjoy in silence, away from other visitors, as the early ascent was not only to see the morning sun shine over the city’s landmarks, but also to make it up there before the gondolas of the funicular started at 8.30 am.

We took the first cable car down and let the first visitors take over our places so they could also enjoy the spectacular view from the top.

Kenneth, TourCompass