Photos

Courtesy www.cape-town.net

The exhilarating ascent of Cape Town's Table Mountain is a must for any
visitor and provides breathtaking views over the city and its beaches. The
panorama stretches from Table Bay to False Bay and around the mountain to
the Hout Bay Valley and Kommetjie. On a clear day one has a magnificent
view across the Cape Flats to the Hottentots Holland Mountains.

The mountain is sculpted from sandstone and it rises 1086 metres above the
bay. Its flat summit measures nearly 3km from end to end. The mountain is
home to approximately 1470 species of plants. Many of these are endemic,
i.e. appearing nowhere else on earth. Included is the rare Silver Tree and
the wild orchid Disa Uniflora.

The Cableway was opened in 1929 and today conveys some 600,000 people to
the summit annually. It provides safe access and the trip takes about six
minutes.

On the summit there is a restaurant and a souvenir shop, from which
letters bearing the Table Mountain postmark can be sent. Short walks may
be taken from the cable-station, and the flora that may be seen in the
different seasons, makes it an essential trip for nature lovers.