Lion's Head at sunset
A spiral around the peak, a few ladders and chains near the top, and the whole city lighting up below.
Duration
1 hr 30 min – 2 hrs 30 min
Difficulty
●●●○○
Best time
Two hours before sunset
Open
Every day
Entry price
Free
The peak tops out at 669 metres, between Table Mountain and the sea. The path spirals around the cone, so you get Camps Bay, the ocean, the city and the harbour in turn without ever retracing your steps.
The last stretch goes up rungs and chains bolted into the rock; a marked bypass avoids them, slightly longer. It is the city's most popular climb on full-moon evenings.
Getting there
Trailhead at the Signal Hill Road car park. It is small and full well before sunset: come early or get dropped off.
What to bring
- Walking shoes
- Headlamp
- Windbreaker
Rules on site
The way down after dark needs a head torch, and the path is unlit: never descend alone. The car park and the first bends have seen muggings — climb in a group.
Other places in Cape Town
Table Mountain, by cable carA thousand-metre plateau above the city, and a cabin that rotates on the way up.
Robben IslandThe cell where Mandela spent eighteen years, visited with former prisoners as guides.Boulders Beach and its penguinsA colony of African penguins settled on a white sand beach, three metres from the boardwalks.
Kirstenbosch Botanical GardenFive hundred hectares of Cape flora at the foot of the mountain, with a walkway slung through the canopy.