Hiking on Table Mountain is popular amongst locals and tourists, and a
number of trails of varying difficulty are available. Because of the steep
cliffs around the summit, direct ascents from the city side are limited.
Platteklip Gorge, a prominent gorge up the centre of the main table, is a
popular and straightforward direct ascent to the summit. Par for the
course is about 2.5 hours depending on fitness. This route is very hot in
summer, as it is located on the north facing slope of the mountain, with
almost no shade along the 600 m climb from Tafelberg Road to the Table
Mountain plateau. Longer routes to the summit go via the Back Table, a
lower area of Table Mountain south of the main plateau which constitutes
the flat summit of Table Mountain as seen from the north. From the
Southern Suburbs side, the Nursery Ravine and Skeleton Gorge routes start
at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. The route via Skeleton Gorge to
Maclear's Beacon is known as Smuts Track in memory of Jan Smuts, who was a
keen hiker. The Bridle Path, or Jeep Track, makes a more gradual ascent
from Constantia Nek along the road used to service the dams on Back Table.
There are many other paths in popular walking areas on the lower slopes of
the mountain accessed from Constantia Nek, Cecilia Park, Kirstenbosch,
Newlands Forest and Rhodes Memorial. There are a number of ascents on the
Atlantic side of the mountain, the most popular being Kasteelspoort, a
ravine overlooking Camps Bay. There is a popular "Contour Path" that runs
from Constantia Nek, and then, in succession, above Cecilia Park,
Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, Newlands Forest, and from there, above
Groote Schuur Estate, past the King's Blockhouse, at the north-east corner
of Devil's Peak, immediately below the Mowbray Ridge cliffs, to the front
of Devil's Peak and the north face of Table Mountain, ending at the bottom
of Kloof Corner Ridge at the western end of the Table Mountain
cliffs.[46][47] It starts at Constantia Nek at 250 m and climbs to around
320 m above Cecilia Park and Kirstenbosch, then climbs to 470 m to the
scree below the cliffs of Fernwood Buttress. It then descends to 350 m,
only to ascend to 400 m 1 km later and remains on this contour until the
King's Blockhouse, and from there, eventually, to Tafelberg Road (at 400
m). From the King's Blockhouse it is possible to choose a footpath that
will lead to the "upper contour path" which traverses the front (north
face) of Devil's Peak and Table Mountain at 500 m, to just beyond the
Lower Cable Station. From there it is possible, from either contour path,
to join up with the "Pipe Track" which starts from Kloof Nek, and then
runs at an elevation of about 300 m, below the cliffs of the Twelve
Apostles, on the Atlantic side of the mountain range as far as the
Oudekraal Ravine, where the path goes up the ravine to join the "Apostles
Path" on top of the Back Table at an elevation of 685 m.[
