Table Mountain: Platteklip Gorge and Kasteelspoort
There are dozens of trails up Table Mountain, and even if I lived in Cape Town long-term, I'd doubt I'd even come close to exploring each route. On this particular adventure, I went with a small group up Platteklip to the summit plateau, then across the Valley of the Red Gods past Echo Valley, down Kasteelspoort which links up with the Pipe Track which traverses the base of the mountain. The hike was quite long, about 7.25 miles (11.70 km) in total, but the views were absolutely stunning.
The hike up Platteklip Gorge was fairly moderate, though steep. Stone steps and anti-erosion gabions form the trail through the ravine between the massive sandstone cliffs. The trail is the most direct route up the mountain, and thus, one of the most popular. While I hiked it pretty quickly (about an hour base to summit), I definitely enjoyed the views of the city bowl.
Once we arrived at the top of the gorge, we took a brief detour to the plateau summit to admire the panoramic views of the city and shores. At the top, we saw the most curious pack of furry little dassies! Oh my word, they were so cute. Believe it or not, these fuzzballs are the closest living relative to the modern elephant and the manatee. All three mammalian groups decended from a common ancestor millions of years ago, and therefore share physiological similarities in teeth, leg, and foot bones.
After the encounter with the adorable dassies, we made our way across the plateau towards the Kasteelspoort trail. Along the way, we found a small cave that tunneled under the trail. It was pretty cool to explore it a little! We also took another brief detour to this rock overhang for a marvelous photo opportunity. Walking out on the granite plank looks far more terrifying than how it actually was in person. I'm just thankful there was no wind!
The group lost a bit of momentum as we approached the leisurely Pipe Track as the sun was starting to set behind Lion's Head. A common running route, I wish I could have switched out my hiking boots for sneakers to finish up the hike with a great run (next time!).
This landscape will never get old.
