The Table Mountain Cable Car began operation on October 4, 1929.

The Cable Car has become as much of a landmark in Cape Town as Table Mountain itself, carrying almost 15 million passengers to the top. Some of its best-known visitors include Oprah Winfrey, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Margaret Thatcher, and Jackie Chan, to name just a few.

Work on a complete upgrade began in January 1997, and the new Cable Car officially opened on October 4, 1997, the anniversary of the original launch nearly 70 years earlier.

Table Mountain provides a magnificent backdrop to Cape Town, and is famous for the blanket of clouds that rolls down its slopes when the south-east blows. This is a mountain of many moods and offers walkers and hikers a variety of routes at various levels of walking. If you want the view without the effort, take the state-of-the-art revolving cable car to the top and have lunch or dinner at the table restaurant.

Rotating cable car:

Unlike their predecessors, the new cable cars (or Rotairs) transport you to the top in less than 10 minutes. Each car has a carrying capacity of 65 people and a rotating floor that provides a 360-degree view of the city and the mountain as you glide to the top. The cars also offer excellent aerodynamics in high winds, allowing for a more reliable service.

At the top of Table Mountain, designated walkways take you across the entire tabletop surface to experience extraordinary views beyond Robben Island, to the edge of the world as it curves into the Atlantic Ocean. Then look south along the ridges of the Rocky Mountains leading up to Cape Point. The curio shop lets you take home flagship souvenirs from Table Mountain, South Africa’s top tourist attraction. Visitors can also enjoy a hot or cold buffet meal at the self-service restaurant.

Biodiversity Hot Spot:

Table Mountain is a biodiversity hotspot with many endemic species. Some of the most conspicuous fynbos plant species on the mountain are proteas, including South Africa’s national emblem, the King Protea.

One unusual animal that you can expect to find on the mountain is the Dassie or Rock Hyrax. At about 50cm long, it resembles a guinea pig, but is actually the closest living relative to the elephant! Table Mountain dassies are very social and have lost their natural fear of humans, but do not touch or feed them while they are biting.

Table Mountain National Park:

Take a walk, a walk, a walk, a walk. Fly your kite, catch a wave, scuba dive, sleep in or have a picnic.

If you’re a nature junkie in need of a fix, the breathtaking sunsets, exquisite flora and fauna, sprawling white-sand beaches and waves endlessly crashing against sheer cliffs should satisfy your cravings.

All of these elements combine to form the essence of Table Mountain National Park (TMNP). Established in 1998, TMNP begins in the city of Cape Town and runs along the Table Mountain range from Signal Hill in the north to Cape Point in the south. The park incorporates 24,000 hectares and an additional 1,000 square kilometers of marine and coastal reserve.

Part of the Cape Floristic Region World Heritage Site, TMNP is the heart of the unique plant kingdom of Fynbos, the only plant kingdom on earth contained in one country. It is also the smallest but richest kingdom in the world, with an area smaller than the City of London boasting no fewer than 2,285 species of plants, many of which are endemic to the park. Because TMN is a park within a city, conservation land is fragmented by urban development and private land. Few people realize that it is actually a single Park, which offers a diversity of attractions.

Within the SANParks stable, the TMNP is unique in that it is very much an open access park, offering locals and visitors alike free admission at most of its access points. In certain sections of the park, entrance fees are collected, which are channeled directly towards conservation initiatives and environmental education.