A classic Table Mountain Hike
The hike up Kasteelspoort overlooking Camps Bay and then continuing through Valley of the Red Gods and Echo Valley to Maclears Beacon is a Table Mountain classic hike. It is a long day out but is well worth the effort as you really do see some of the best that Table Mountain has to offer.
Contact Ridgway Ramblers for more details on this hike and other trails on Table Mountain.
Park your car at the top of Kloof Nek and start hiking along the Pipe Track. This is a relatively flat path that takes you along the foot of the 12 Apostles. Even at this level the views of the 12 Apostles and Camps Bay are magnificent.
The view of the 12 Apostles and Camps Bay from the Pipe Track
You follow this path for about an hour until you get to the Kasteelspoort turn off. There are a number of paths leading off the Pipe Track but the Kasteelspoort one is well signposted. Here is where you begin your climb. Kasteelspoort is one of the most popular and easier ways onto the back of Table Mountain. The first half takes you up and to the right with a couple of places where you need to use your hands to get some larger steps. After about 40 minutes climbing you come to a large flat rock. This is about half way up. Take a break here and then continue straight up the gorge on the left of the stream that tumbles down the mountain here.
At the top of the gorge you cross the stream and then get to a junction where the Kasteelspoort path meets the 12 Apostles path. Turn left here and continue to follow a small stream up a gentle hill towards valley of the red gods. After 20 minutes the path takes a turn to the right and starts to lead more steeply up hill. At the top of the rise stop to admire the view before dropping into the beautiful valley of isolation.
At the top of Kasteelspoort
At the centre of the valley in a small cave there is a continual small waterfall to refill you water bottles before heading off up and out of the valley. From the top of this climb you can see the cable car in the distance. However first you need to drop down into Echo Valley which runs parallel with the main plateau and separates the back of the mountain from the Table Top.
Looking back across the back of Table Mountain
Once in Echo valley it is possible to head straight up the next rise and be at the cable car in less than 45 minutes. However, if you want to get to the highest point on Table Mountain you turn right into Echo Valley and follow it as it traverses all the way to the other side where it meets with Smuts Track. Turn left onto this path and follow it to Maclears Beacon. Which at 1080m is the highest point on Table Mountain.
It should take you around 5 hours to get to Maclears Beacon. From here it is an hours walk to the cable car and then a 10 minute stroll down Tafelberg Rd to your car. Remember that the cable car may be closed on very windy days in which case you will have an hours tough hike down Platteklip gorge and a much longer walk on the road back to you car. So it is well worth checking the weather conditions before you go.
