Table Mountain, visible from miles away, is a symbol of both Cape Town and South Africa. Before arriving in Cape Town, the only fixed activity on my list was to summit it on foot. I love a good hike, especially when rewarded by an amazing cityscape at the top. Thousands of tourists, young and old, climb it every year. At only 1089m above sea level, how hard could it be?
Turns out, pretty hard.
Our first decision was which route to take up the mountain. My Internet research informed me that Platteklip Gorge was the most common hiking route. However, there seemed to be a fair amount of snobbery regarding this. As the shortest and, apparently, most boring route, it was deemed by many as only slightly better than taking the cable car.
There were longer, more scenic hikes listed online. Some, such as the Skeleton Gorge route, began in the Kirstenbosch Botanic Gardens. Others involved scrambling or ladders. If we’d had more time, I would definitely have been up for one of these. Unfortunately, the only clear day (for good views and photos) during our stay was forecasted for the day we’d booked afternoon tickets to visit Robben Island.
We thus chose to hike up Platteklip Gorge, the fastest route to the top.
Somehow I did not realise that this meant the route was the steepest.
When we first set off through the undergrowth, I paced ahead at the front of our group. After one flight of steep steps I stopped to catch my breath, lungs burning. After the second flight of steps I paused again, anticipating the moment when they would give way to sloped ground. Imagine my surprise when we emerged from the undergrowth and I saw the path ahead of us.
Prior to hiking, I definitely saw this route derisively advertised as “leisurely” and “tame” on at least one website. My mistake was thinking this meant the hike was going to be on the relaxed side of challenging. The Platteklip Gorge path may be the shortest route up the mountain at less than 2 miles long, but it ascends 700m. We had to reach the same altitude as the longer routes, but in a shorter amount of time.
In reality, the hike consisted of hundreds of stone steps, tacking relentlessly up the mountain. The incline was really steep, with the top of the mountain practically directly above us. I definitely wasn’t at peak fitness after sitting for two months on an overland truck, and this was hard. I couldn’t quite believe how much more difficult it was than I’d thought. I had friends who had done this hike as children—why hadn’t they warned me?!
Fortunately, the steepness and difficulty ultimately worked out in my favour. If the hike had been easy I would have powered up to the top. It being more strenuous prompted me to slow down and enjoy my surroundings.
I now understood why this route was considered boring. The majority of hikers I encountered raced up, desperate to get to the summit as quickly as possible. Once I got over my “oh no, they’ll think I’m really slow” anxiety, I was able to take my time. Honestly, leaving my ego at the foot of Platteklip Gorge was the best decision I made whilst climbing Table Mountain.
As the rest of our group left us in the dust, my friend and I stopped every 15 minutes for photo opportunities and snacks. Every now and again a group descending would pass us. “Not long to go!” they would always say, encouraging and slightly smug. “It’s worth it!”
Yet even if the clouds descended as we reached the summit and I couldn’t see a thing, I felt like the views on the way up had done Table Mountain and Cape Town justice. The outlook over the city bowl was incredible, with the “tablecloth” cloud rolling off the edge of the mountain. As we hiked higher, our perspective changed. Soon we could see as far as the mountain ranges nearly 100km away, tiered in shades of blue. Not a bad view to pause for a biscuit break.
Even with our steady pace and many breaks, it took us less than two hours to reach Table Mountain’s summit. Stumbling with burning legs over the cusp of the peak, I could already see that the smug people descending weren’t wrong: the panorama from the summit was incredible.
Table Mountain’s top is so level that it’s possible to spend a lot of time up there, taking in the 360º views over Cape Town. As the midday sun battled with the wind off the Atlantic, we circled the 2km path round the summit. I could see as far as Robben Island and the Cape Flats, sprawled beyond Lion’s Head and the city bowl. The outlook changed with every few steps, revealing what a diverse and beautifully situated city Cape Town is.
We only stayed at the summit for about an hour, but I could have explored for much longer. This sentiment was reinforced when we began to climb back down the steep Platteklip Gorge steps.
However hard I thought climbing Table Mountain had been, descending was even harder. I seem to have a massive aversion to going down mountains. This was also before I’d discovered the incomparable advantage of hiking poles, a revelation I detail in my post about 10 underrated essentials for trekking to Everest Base Camp.
I think I probably took more breaks going down than I did going up. Though my lungs weren’t burning as they had climbing upwards, my knees and quads were aching twice as much. I was glad I’d been so attentive of the view on the way up. This time my eyes were fixed on the steep path, terrified of tripping down the mountain. Thank goodness I was wearing shoes with some grip in the soles because the stone steps were slippery with dust and wear. At one point I slipped quite impressively, grabbing my friend’s arm to break my fall. I swear my reflexes have never been quicker, though she was unimpressed that I nearly took her down with me.
On the bright side, we were now the ones able to say, “Not long now!” slightly smugly to those we passed. Every time a group panted past us I would attempt to plaster a look of exhilarated ease on my face. I knew those climbing wouldn’t have much sympathy for anyone going down the mountain.
At one point, a small group descending overtook us as we paused to give our knees some respite.
“You’re so nearly there!” they told us enthusiastically as they passed.
“Are we?!” I said delightedly, though the bottom was nowhere in sight. Then with a sinking feeling—coupled with a slight embarrassment—I realised they thought we were still climbing upwards. I let them outstrip us anyway, and waited until they were out of sight before continuing to climb down.
Eventually, and after nearly taking several wrong turns, we arrived back at the base of Platteklip Gorge. My knees and quads were sore for the next three days. Walking downstairs to breakfast the next morning I nearly gave up on the idea of food. Even stepping off the curb onto the road was six inches too far down for my troubled legs.
Despite this, I’m so glad I hiked up Table Mountain via Platteklip Gorge. It may have resembled a two-mile stairmaster, but we were rewarded with some amazing views in exchange for an unhurried pace. Though Cape Town was only the beginning of my South African road trip, I felt like my overland tour through East and Southern Africa had been leading up to this city. There was no better way to see it than from Table Mountain . . . but I might take the cable car down next time!
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