Editing Table Mountain (section)

==Activities==

===Hiking on Table Mountain===
Hiking on Table Mountain is popular amongst locals and tourists, and a number of trails of varying difficulty are available. Because of the steep cliffs around the summit, direct ascents from the city side are limited. Platteklip Gorge, a prominent gorge up the centre of the main table, is a popular and straightforward direct ascent to the summit. Par for the course is about 2.5 hours depending on fitness. This route is very hot in summer, as it is located on the north facing slope of the mountain, with almost no shade along the 600&nbsp;m climb from Tafelberg Road to the Table Mountain plateau.

Longer routes to the summit go via the Back Table, a lower area of Table Mountain south of the main plateau which constitutes the flat summit of Table Mountain as seen from the north. From the Southern Suburbs side, the Nursery Ravine and Skeleton Gorge routes start at [[Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden]]. The route via Skeleton Gorge to Maclear's Beacon is known as Smuts Track in memory of [[Jan Smuts]], who was a keen hiker. The Bridle Path, or Jeep Track, makes a more gradual ascent from [[Constantia Nek]] along the road used to service the dams on Back Table. There are many other paths in popular walking areas on the lower slopes of the mountain accessed from [[Constantia Nek]], [[Cecilia Park]], [[Kirstenbosch]], [[Newlands Forest]] and [[Rhodes Memorial]].

There are a number of ascents on the Atlantic side of the mountain, the most popular being Kasteelspoort, a ravine overlooking [[Camps Bay]].

There is a popular "Contour Path" that runs from [[Constantia Nek]], and then, in succession, above [[Cecilia Park]], [[Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens]], [[Newlands Forest]], and from there, above Groote Schuur Estate, past the King's Blockhouse, at the north-east corner of [[Devil's Peak (Cape Town)|Devil's Peak]], immediately below the Mowbray Ridge cliffs, to the front of Devil's Peak and the north face of Table Mountain, ending at the bottom of Kloof Corner Ridge at the western end of the Table Mountain cliffs.<ref name=slingsby>{{cite book |last1=Slingsby |first1=Peter | title=Table Mountain, the map|location=Muizenberg |publisher=Baardskeerder |date=2010|isbn= 978-1-920377-10-6}}</ref><ref name=clark>{{cite book|last1=Clarke|first1=Hugh|last2=Mackenzie|first2=Bruce|title=Common wild flowers of Table Mountain|pages=12–13, 96–98|date=2007|publisher=Struik Publications|location=Cape Town|isbn=978-1-77007-383-8}}</ref> It starts at Constantia Nek at 250&nbsp;m and climbs to around 320&nbsp;m above [[Cecilia Park]] and Kirstenbosch, then climbs to 470&nbsp;m to the scree below the cliffs of Fernwood Buttress. It then descends to 350&nbsp;m, only to ascend to 400&nbsp;m 1&nbsp;km later and remains on this contour until the King's Blockhouse, and from there, eventually, to Tafelberg Road (at 400&nbsp;m). From the King's Blockhouse it is possible to choose a footpath that will lead to the "upper contour path" which traverses the front (north face) of Devil's Peak and Table Mountain at 500&nbsp;m, to just beyond the Lower Cable Station. From there it is possible, from either contour path, to join up with the "Pipe Track" which starts from Kloof Nek, and then runs at an elevation of about 300&nbsp;m, below the cliffs of the Twelve Apostles, on the Atlantic side of the mountain range as far as the Oudekraal Ravine, where the path goes up the ravine to join the "Apostles Path" on top of the Back Table at an elevation of 685&nbsp;m.<ref name=clark /> There are innumerable paths which join the contour path from below (at least five from Kirstenbosch alone), and somewhat fewer that join it from above.<ref name=slingsby /><ref name=clark />

On top of the mountain, and particularly on the Back Table, there is an extensive network of well marked hiking paths over a variety of terrains and distances and durations up to several hours or all day.<ref name=slingsby /> Maps of all the routes are available at bookshops and outdoor recreation stores, which hikers are advised to use, as dense mist and cold weather (or extreme heat) can descend without warning at any time of the year.

The [[Hoerikwaggo Trails]]<ref name=hoerikwaggo_trail>{{cite web|url=http://www.sanparks.org/parks/table_mountain/ht/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060217093556/http://www.sanparks.org/parks/table_mountain/ht/|url-status=dead|archive-date=2006-02-17|title=Hoerikwaggo Trails|publisher=SANParks|access-date=2006-12-21}}</ref> were four hiking trails on the Cape Peninsula Mountain Chain ranging from two to six days, operated by South African National Parks (SANPARKS) between the [[Victoria & Alfred Waterfront]] and [[Cape Point]]. Today (2017) the trails can no longer be undertaken with an official SANPARKS guide, and only four of the original accommodation facilities are operational (the Overseer's Cottage on the Back Table, the Orange Kloof Tented Camp, the Slangkop Tented Camp and the Smitswinkel Tented Camp). These camps are "self-catering", each with communal ablution facilities, with large communal kitchen/lounge areas, fully equipped for 12 persons.<ref name=Hoerikwaggo>{{cite web |url=http://www.tmnp.co.za/ |title=Hoerikwaggo Tented Camps |publisher=Table Mountain National Park |access-date=2017-01-26 |archive-date=2 April 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060402185853/http://www.tmnp.co.za/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> SANPARKS arranges for luggage and provisions to be transported to the operational cottages and tented camps, so that the hikers can ascend the mountain unencumbered by heavy backpacks. The four Table Mountain Hoerikwaggo hiking trails were called the People's Trail, Table Mountain Trail, Orangekloof Hiking Trail and Top to Tip Trail.<ref name="Table Mountain_Trails">{{cite web|url=http://www.capetown-direct.com/43things/table-mountain-national-park-hoerikwaggo-trails |title=Table Mountain Trails |publisher=Cape Town Direct |access-date=2007-03-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070403104101/http://www.capetown-direct.com/43things/table-mountain-national-park-hoerikwaggo-trails |archive-date=3 April 2007 }}</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Hiking trail going up Table Mountain.jpg|Winter ascent of Table Mountain. Hikers set out on one of the many popular trails
File:Maclear's Beacon text.jpg|The plaque at [[Thomas Maclear|Maclear's]] beacon at the highest point on Table Mountain (and the [[Cape Peninsula]]) at 1084&nbsp;m. It commemorates Maclear's recalculation of the curvature of the Earth in the Southern Hemisphere. In 1750, Abbé [[Nicolas Louis de Lacaille]] had measured the curvature of a [[meridian arc]] northwards from Cape Town, to determine the [[figure of the Earth]], and found that the curvature of the Earth was less in southern latitudes than at corresponding northern ones (i.e. that the Earth was slightly pear-shaped, with the wider bulge south of the equator). However, when Sir [[George Everest]] visited the Cape in 1820 and inspected the site of La Caille's measurements in Cape Town, he suggested to Maclear that the gravitational effect of Table Mountain could have caused a miscalculation of the curvature of the meridian. This was based on Everest's experience in the [[Himalayas]]. Taking this factor into account [[Thomas Maclear|Maclear]] established the curvature of the Southern Hemisphere was in fact the same as that of the Northern Hemisphere.
File:Table Mountain Eastern Slopes - Natural Areas - Cape Town.png|Map showing the conservation areas and forests of the eastern slopes of Table Mountain and the Back table. e.g. [[Cecilia Park]], [[Kirstenbosch]], [[Newlands Forest]],  and Groote Schuur Estate. The north face of the mountain (Table Mountain flanked by [[Devil's Peak (Cape Town)|Devil's Peak]] to the east and [[Lion's Head (Cape Town)|Lion's Head]] to the west, as well as the "Twelve Apostles" on the Atlantic side are also shown.
</gallery>

===Rock climbing===
[[Rock climbing]] on Table Mountain is a very popular pastime. There are well-documented climbing routes of varying degrees of difficulty up the many faces of the mountain. The main climbs are located on cliffs below the upper cable station. No bolting can be done here and only [[traditional climbing]] is allowed. Commercial groups also offer abseiling from the upper cable station.

===Caving===
Most of the world's important caves occur in [[limestone]] but Table Mountain is unusual in having several large cave systems that have developed in sandstone. The biggest systems are the Wynberg Caves, located on the Back Table, not far from the Jeep Track, in ridges overlooking [[Orange Kloof]] and [[Hout Bay]].

===Mountain biking===
The slopes of Table Mountain have many jeep tracks that allow mountain biking. The route to the Block House is a popular route for bike riding. Plum Pudding Hill is the name of a very steep jeep track. Bike riders should follow the directional signs on display for mountain bike riders.