Mastering Table Mountain Summer hiking with 5 Essential Tips.

5 tips for your best hiking experience:

1.) What to Bring: Whether you’re with a mountain guide or just chilling with friends, always remember to pack the essentials. Think comfy walking shoes (no need for giant boots), layered clothes, a hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, a small daypack, and a minimum of 2 litres of water and snacks. Trail running shoes? Perfect! Water-wise, more is better, especially for longer routes like Skeleton Gorge on hotter days.

2.) Best Times to Start: Adventuring in Cape Town during this season means facing the same scorching African sun as the rest of the continent. Temperatures average around 25 degrees Celsius but can skyrocket to 35 degrees and beyond. Planning a Platteklip Gorge hike at 9am? Think again! Aim for a 6am start – the sun’s up, it’s safer, and not scorching yet. Bonus: early starters find plenty of shady spots as the sun climbs steadily higher. For sunset hikes up Lion’s Head, kick-off at 4 pm (5pm latest). It beats the intense midday heat and ensures you catch the sunset and return before dark.

3.) Choosing Routes: Consider the crowd factor. Weekdays are your quieter escape, with fewer locals and tourists on the trails. Popular routes like Lion’s Head and Platteklip Gorge become Times Square on New Year’s Eve on weekends. If you’re crowd-averse, opt for serene routes like Kasteelspoort or something more adventurous like India Venster. Save Lion’s Head and Platteklip Gorge for the weekdays.

4.) Weather: If you’re planning on an outdoors mission at this time of year, then weather is important for a number of reasons. The heat we’ve spoken about, but what about the wind? The strong South Easterly wind, affectionately know as the “Cape Doctor” by locals, is one to certainly watch out for. With gail force winds up to 90km/h the cable car has to occasionally shut down – and the later in the day the stronger the wind becomes. As such, in summer you have extra reason to be up early; to avoid both the heat and minimize the likelihood of having to trapse back down the mountain if the cable car is closed.

5.) Hire a Guide: With all of the above said, if you’re new to the city or merely staying for a few days, we are inclined to recommend a professional mountain guide to take the stress out of planning and allow you to fully enjoy your immersive nature experience. Path and Peak Adventure’s hires only the most highly qualified mountain guides with years of mountain and first aid experience. Walk away with a wealth of memorable experiences and some beautiful photos to boot.