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A good way to start your visit to Cape Town , during your trip to South Africa , is to climb its iconic mountain, the Table Mountain .
From any perspective of Cape Town , this great mountain of curious configuration stands majestically above the city in what is undoubtedly an invitation to climb to the top of it in search of the best panoramic views of this South African city.
The name of the mountain ( Mountain of the Table ) describes its characteristic form of table, instead of the habitual succession of peaks that usually present / display the mountainous massifs.
From a distance Table Mountain shows you a crest with a longitudinal plateau that is about three kilometers long.
In addition, it is usual to see how a succession of clouds slide from its crest after accumulating on its south eastern side as a result of cold air and condensation of moisture.
Table Mountain Cable Car
To climb the Table Mountain you have another iconic image of Cape Town , a cable car that has been in operation since 1929.
You should know that you can also walk up a hiking trail that opens up a gorge directly to the top, which is at an altitude of almost 1,100 meters … but this climb will take two to three hours.
The Table Mountain cable car departs from a station located 363 meters above sea level, and it takes only about three minutes to reach the top, and it can go up to 800 people an hour.
With capacity for each cabin for 65 people, it sure catches your attention that the cabin is turning slowly as it goes up or down.
Therefore, it is not worth “sticking” with the other passengers to stand facing the outside, because in the up and down path you will turn completely almost a couple of times so that you can enjoy all perspectives.
When you reach the top, you will find several viewpoints oriented towards both sides of the mountain.
In this way you can enjoy a 360 degree view, which highlights the stunning panoramic views of Cape Town and its surroundings.
In addition, from the top there are several routes for hiking in this high part of the mountain.
Of course, the operation of the cable car is conditioned by the always variable weather conditions, which you have to take into account when choosing clothing for your visit.
Do not forget to come up with a sweater or sweatshirt, because although in the city it seems like good weather, up you can find more unpleasant circumstances, with cold … and wind.
In this regard I advance you that Cape Town is a city that is characterized by strong winds … and when this happens, the cable car can suspend your service.
When on the recent trip to South Africa with the Adventure Africa we climbed the Table Mountain , we had to run out to get to one of the last cabins that went down before suspending the cable car service.
At the cable car exit station there really was not any wind, but when we reached the top, more than wind, there was almost a gale that really prevented us from making a more pleasant visit.
The clouds passed at high speed at the top, and it was not easy to take photographs.
After taking the snack, because our intention was to see the sunset from the Table Mountain , suddenly the speakers that had been distributed by the lookouts warned that you had to go down, that the cable car service was going to be suspended in a short time.
As a result of them, the tourists who were at the top, almost on the run, started to parade towards the cable car station.
Of course, during the ascent and descent at any time the cabins moved, because they have a special system to avoid displacement due to the effect of the wind: they transport in their base 4,000 liters of water.
Table Mountain cableway schedules
The schedules of Table Mountain Cableway vary by season.
In most of the year the service starts at 8 in the morning, with the last climb, from December to January, at 8.30 pm and the last descent at 9.30 pm.
In winter, which corresponds to the months of May to September, the last climb is at 5:00 pm, with the last descent one hour later.
