Table Mountain, by cable car
A thousand-metre plateau above the city, and a cabin that rotates on the way up.
Duration
2 hrs – 4 hrs
Difficulty
●●●○○
Best time
Mornings, before the wind
Open
Every day
Entry price
450 ZAR
The plateau tops out at 1,086 metres and runs nearly three kilometres, which is where the table comes from. The cable car climbs in five minutes in a cabin whose floor rotates on the way up: everyone sees everything and nobody fights for the window.
At the top, three marked paths circle the plateau in twenty minutes to an hour. The cloud that forms and spills over the north side, the tablecloth, arrives in minutes and closes the cable car just as fast.
Getting there
Tafelberg road to the lower station; the car park often spills onto the road. The red tourist bus runs up from the centre.
Hours
Annual maintenance closure from 27 July to 9 August 2026
What the price covers
adult return. One way 295 R. Child 4 to 17, 225 R return.
What to bring
- Walking shoes
- Board
Rules on site
The cable car closes without notice as soon as the wind gets up, and the morning queue becomes a wasted trip. Check the running status on the day before you go.
Checked on 28 August 2026 at Table Mountain Cableway — official site
Other places in Cape Town
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.
Lion's Head at sunsetA spiral around the peak, a few ladders and chains near the top, and the whole city lighting up below.