Hiking the Table Mountain in Cape Town is a must

As the mountains are simply beautiful I highly recommend admiring them by hiking. Our hike up to the mountain was via Constantia Nek Trail.
The trail starts near the Harbour House restaurant in the Constantia Nek traffic circle and offers two options for going up: the relatively steep trail itself which mainly consists of climbing up steps, and the less steep jeep track / dirt road. Our typical morning hike, like for many locals, was climbing up the trail itself while admiring incredible views to the Constantia wine valley, and then running down the jeep track. This took some 1.5h, depending on your speed and number of breaks.

After having completed the hike on the first morning, we realised you can also walk to the top of the Table Mountain via the same route, and we decided to take on the challenge. The route we chose went up Constantia Nek trail, then past the damms, and then through the Valley of Red Gods. The total distance covered was some 9km, with total of 1000m of vertical climbing, and it took us some 4h, including a long break for breakfast (we started our hike early to avoid climbing during mid day).
The first 2-3km of the trail included primarily climbing (from 150->700m), followed by some 3-4km of mainly flat terrain past the dams and rich vegetation, with more climbing in the end (750->1050m), including also climbing couple of short ladders. All of this rather easy for someone carrying enough water and snacks and being reasonably fit.
The hike finished at the Table Mountain Cable car, which we also rode down, but of course only after admiring the amazing views and some drinks (Cosmo in a jar & Beer) at the top.
What a great hike – would love to do it again!