Table Mountain National Park

Explore Table Mountain National Park on a variety of tours ranging from day trips across the Cape Peninsula to private hiking tours up the steep slopes of Table Mountain. If you want to see the views from tabletop but aren’t up to the hike, opt for the relaxing route up on a cable car (book a tour with skip-the-line privileges to avoid long wait times) or soar above the park’s stunning rock formations on a coastal helicopter tour.

• Table Mountain National Park is a Cape Town classic not to be missed by nature lovers and photographers.

• Many of the hikes in TMNP are steep and challenging, but several of the best viewpoints also have cable car shuttles to the top.

• The park has many paved boardwalks and overlooks, and the cable cars are also wheelchair accessible.

• There are restaurants and gift shops throughout the park.

Table Mountain is easily reached from central Cape Town by car, taxi, bicycle, or on foot. You can venture into the rest of the national park on one of the coastal roads that run between the park and the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the False Bay on the other. The easiest way to go deeper into the park is to join a tour of Cape Peninsula.

A “tablecloth” of clouds usually rolls across the mountaintop in the afternoon and obscures the city and ocean below, so Table Mountain itself is best visited in early morning or at sunset in order to see the much-anticipated views. If you visit on weekends and holidays be prepared for certain parts of the park to be quite crowded.

Do not let the fame of Table Mountain overshadow the rest of the natural wonders in the national park. First, get the best views of Table Mountain itself—plus 360-degree views of the city and ocean—from neighboring Lion’s Head peak. Then, make the journey south along the Cape Peninsula to see the historic Cape of Good Hope. Along the way, stop to visit the Boulders Beach penguin colony, enjoy white-sand beaches, and hike trails lined with fynbos and wildflowers.