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No one should miss a trip up Table Mountain on the world class Cableway. It's an essential part of the Cape Town experience for any visitor, while there are special offers which locals should take up too.
History of the Cableway
- The Cableway was built over 80 years ago. On 4 Oct 1929 the Cableway opened its doors to its first visitors. The opening ceremony, led by the then mayor of Cape Town, drew 200 guests.
- Since then numerous upgrades have taken place, with the most recent in October 1997.
Number of Visitors to the Cableway:
- To date the Cableway has transported more than 22 million visitors. On average 800 000 visitors from all over the world visit the Cableway every year.
- Despite this, queuing time is minimal due to the upgraded system which has cut down the long queues that phere used to be.
About the cable cars:
- The 65 passenger cable car runs from the lower cable station to the top of Table Mountain. The floor rotates giving every one a 360 degree view on the way up.
- The cable car was imported from Switzerland and there are only 3 other such cable cars in the world, one in the Swiss Alps, and one in Palm Springs in America.
- The cable cars take about 5 minutes to reach the top of the mountain and they travel at a speed of up to 10 meters per second.
- The round form of the cable car offers excellent aerodynamics in Cape Town's famous strong South Easter winds. This means that the Cableway can operate in greater weather conditions than the pervious cars.
- The floor of the rotating cable car is in fact a water tank that can carry up to 4000 liters of fresh water up the mountain at a time. This is important both for stability during strong winds, and to provide fresh water for our visitors, especially during the hot and dry summer months.
- The cable cars can carry a maximum weight of 5200 kg.
On top of Table Mountain:
- Once on top one has a view of all of Cape Town city centre, Table Bay, Robben Island, Lion's Head and Devil's Peak, the Cape Flats out towards Khayelitsha and Mitchell's Plain, the Hottentot Holland Mountains and even across the Table Mountain range towards Cape Point.
- 2km of pathways lead visitors to many vantage points to enjoy the views and tranquility.
- The Table Mountain Café offers a trendier, more varied menu that caters for the changing demands of the Cableway’s visitors. Menu items include a variety of pizza slices, gourmet Panini’s, and a scrumptious buffet that showcases traditional South African cuisine. A selection of light meals is also available.
- The 'shop at the Top' offers a wide selection of items ranging from exquisite handmade jewellery, local crafts and the more traditional Table Mountain chocolates, coffee mugs and teaspoons.
- Both the lower station and upper Cable station are wheelchair friendly.
Special offers for Locals
- We have a number of special offers throughout the year aimed at local travelers and Capetonians.
Celebrate Your Birthday with Table Mountain Cableway:
- The Cableway will give adults a FREE return ticket on their birthday! So ALL can enjoy at least one day in the year at the top of Table Mountain.
- Conditions: Please present your SA ID document on the DAY of your birthday at the lower station ticket office. Offer is on adult return tickets only if weather permits.
Class in the Clouds:
- The popular school programme runs from March to October and offers learners the opportunity to join our \Class in the Clouds" on Table Mountain at a discounted rate.
- More than 150 000 Class in the Clouds learners have already joined the programme since 2001.
Click here for the rates and operating hours.