Trek Western Cape — Cape Town, South Africa

Table Mountain via Platteklip Gorge

The classic direct ascent of Table Mountain — a steep, sun-baked climb up the great cleft in the cliffs to the flat summit high above Cape Town, with the option to ride the cable car back down.

Duration: 1 days
Distance: 5 km
Ascent: 780 m
Difficulty: Hard
Best season: Cape Town's summer and autumn, November–April (start early to beat the heat)

Platteklip Gorge is the oldest and most straightforward route to the top of Table Mountain, following the deep cleft that splits the mountain’s famous flat face. It is not technical, but it is relentlessly steep — roughly 600 m of climbing packed into a single gorge — and there is almost no shade, so timing and water matter.

This was the line taken on the first recorded ascent of the mountain, by the Portuguese navigator António de Saldanha in 1503, and it remains the walkers’ highway to the summit.

Getting there. The walk starts from a roadside trailhead on Tafelberg Road, about 302 m above sea level, a short drive or taxi from central Cape Town below the Lower Cableway Station.

Cable car. The Table Mountain Aerial Cableway runs from the plateau’s western end. Many walkers climb Platteklip and ride the rotating cable car back down — check it is running, as it closes in high wind and for maintenance.

Good to know:

The summit plateau reaches about 1,086 m at Maclear’s Beacon, a stone cairn built in 1865 and the true high point.
The gorge faces the sun and can be dangerously hot in summer; start early, carry plenty of water, and turn back if the ‘tablecloth’ cloud pours over the top.
Weather changes fast on the mountain — carry a warm layer even on a hot day.

Day 1

Tafelberg Road to the summit plateau

Tafelberg Road trailhead → Upper Cableway Station 5 km ↑ 780 m

Navigate this day

From Tafelberg Road the path traverses to the mouth of Platteklip Gorge and then climbs hard up the cleft to the plateau, from where a short walk leads to Maclear’s Beacon and on to the Upper Cableway Station.

Segments

Contour path to the gorge 0.8 km ↑ 80 m 📍 Map

Tafelberg Road trailhead → Foot of Platteklip Gorge

Stony contour path

Follow the well-worn contour path east from the roadside trailhead below the cliffs until it swings up towards the obvious deep cleft of Platteklip Gorge. About 20–30 minutes.
The Platteklip Gorge climb 1.8 km ↑ 600 m 📍 Map

Foot of Platteklip Gorge → Top of the gorge

Steep rock steps and zigzags

The heart of the walk: a relentless climb of rough rock steps and zigzags up the shadeless gorge, gaining about 600 m to emerge suddenly onto the flat summit. Roughly 1.5–2 hours.
Across to Maclear's Beacon 1.4 km ↑ 80 m 📍 Map

Top of the gorge → Maclear's Beacon

Rocky plateau path

Walk east across the summit plateau, through fynbos and over sandstone, to Maclear's Beacon — a stone cairn built in 1865 marking the mountain's true high point at about 1,086 m.

About this place

Maclear's Beacon is a triangulation station used in Maclear's arc measurement for Earth's circumference determination.
Read more on Wikipedia ↗
Photo: Barry Ne · CC BY-SA 4.0
To the cableway station 1 km ↑ 20 m 📍 Map

Maclear's Beacon → Upper Cableway Station

Plateau path

Follow the plateau paths west to the Upper Cableway Station, with sweeping views over Cape Town, Table Bay and the Atlantic. Ride the rotating cable car down, or return the way you came.

About this place

The Table Mountain Aerial Cableway is a cable car transportation system offering visitors a five-minute ride to the top of Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa. It is one of Cape Town's most popular tourist attractions with approximately one million people a year using the Cableway.
Read more on Wikipedia ↗
Photo: Fazielah Williams · CC BY-SA 4.0