Hiking excursion up Skeleton Gorge in Cape Town

Take a short walk through part of Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens including the Boomslang Treetop walk, shady Skeleton Gorge and indigenous forest, providing you with beautiful views on a clear day.

You'll get to see a variety of Fynbos as you ramble to Maclear’s Beacon, the highest point of Table Mountain. You'll also visit the flat plateau of Table Mountain overlooking the city bowl and harbour.

The Gorge is actually a ravine, and ascends steeply up the eastern side of Table Mountain. A well maintained path following the left side of the stream and is in shade nearly all the way to the top.

At about half way up (45min) there are a series of 5 short wooden ladders to help you over a steep terrain and ends in a narrow section of the gorge. For a short distance the path is in the streambed that requires scrambling over rocks and boulders, (this section can be very wet and slippery in winter and shoes with non-slip soles are essential) after you reach the gabion (a stone wall covered with metal mesh to hold it together).

The path crosses over to the right side of the gorge and continues upwards with lush ferns surrounding the path. For the first time you emerge above the treeline and you are able to look down to the starting point in Kirstenbosch.

Soon after a huge boulder called Breakfast Rock, the path splits 4-ways. (You should reach this point in about 1 hour 45 minutes from the contour path). You can choose to go around Hely Hutchinson dam or turn right onto Smuts' Track.

The path then opens up offering expansive views of Cape Town’s southern suburbs and False Bay in the distance. A steady climb up the ‘back table’ to Maclear’s Beacon, (highest point on Table Mountain 1085m/ 3560ft) and then onto our descent via the Cableway or Platteklip Gorge.

Altitude: Start at 180m/591ft to highest point 1085m/3560ft
Total climb: 905m/2969ft
Distance: Approx. 6 – 7 km
Rating: Unrelenting but a pleasant ascent, physically demanding and mountain fitness is required
Time: Between 4 – 6 hours depending on route combination, weather and fitness level