Table Mountain Table Mountain, with its distinct shape, is one of the best-known mountains in the world. The first recorded climb to the summit was in 1503 when the Portuguese navigator, Antonio da Saldanha, led a party up the mountain. Today thousands of people hike to the summit of Table Mountain. It is said that we have a unique asset in our civic backyard of a gigantic playground of rocks, streams, waterfalls, flowers and many kilometres of paths for walkers. These include some of the most exposed and severe rock climbs known to mountaineers.
All climbs are on good hard sandstone cliffs.
In 1927 the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway Company Ltd was established. The first cable-car ran to the summit in 1929 and since that day there has been no accident of a serious nature on the cableway. In recent years the Cableway has become increasingly popular both to South Africans and foreign tourists. The two cabins counterbalance each other and take less than five minutes to do the journey which seems much longer to the visitor as views of towering precipices and vast views of the ocean and city below unfold. Table Mountain and The Cape Floral Kingdom Table Mountain was proclaimed a Natural and Historic Monument in 1951 and is now applying for recognition as a World Heritage Site.