Table Mountain Aerial Cableway

Table Mountain is the flat-topped sandstone massif that dominates the skyline of Cape Town in South Africa's Western Cape, rising to about 1,086 metres above the city bowl. The Aerial Cableway runs from the lower station on Tafelberg Road in the Gardens neighbourhood to the summit plateau in about five minutes, in cars whose floors rotate through a full circle so that every passenger gets a view of the city, Table Bay and the Atlantic coast on the way up. Most visitors spend two to three hours in total, including the queue, the ride and time on top. At the summit, a network of marked paths of varying length loops across the plateau to viewpoints facing Camps Bay and the Twelve Apostles, Lion's Head and Signal Hill, the city bowl and Robben Island offshore. The plateau supports fynbos vegetation, including proteas and ericas, and rock hyraxes (dassies) are commonly seen sunning themselves on the rocks. A restaurant, a cafe and a gift shop operate near the upper station. The best photographs are usually taken from the western edge looking toward Camps Bay in the late afternoon, and from the northern viewpoints over the city and harbour in the morning. Cableway operations depend on the weather: strong south-easterly wind, which also produces the cloud known as the tablecloth, can suspend service at short notice, and the cableway closes for annual maintenance for roughly two to three weeks in July and August. Queues are longest on clear, calm mornings in the December and January peak and during school holidays, and shortest on weekday afternoons outside the summer season and early on the first car of the day. Return tickets cost about R475 online and about R530 at the ticket office, with children aged 4 to 17 paying about R230. Visitors who prefer to walk can climb routes such as Platteklip Gorge, which takes roughly two to three hours up and is steep and exposed; a one-way cableway ticket is available for the descent.