Cape Town’s Most Popular Hike
19 February 2023 – My Birthday Hike
The World's Most Popular Urban Hike
My Birthday Run That Was Not
I was supposed to run the Peninsula Half Marathon today. Alas, my entry was ‘unpaid’ even though it was supposed to be an automatic EFT, (which said ‘payment confirmed’ btw) and was subsequently unceremoniously cancelled by Entry Ninja, without even a courtesy email to advise me that the entry was still unpaid.
I am very disappointed in Entry Ninja, who can mail me every week to remind me of my R4000 African X entry that needs to be paid and which they did not cancel but can’t remind me of my R200 Peninsula Half Marathon entry that is unpaid.
I am so disappointed with their customer service. If I don’t know a payment has not gone through, and you don’t inform me, how am I supposed to pay the entry?
Now it was apparently too late (2 days before race day) and I must contact the organising club, Celtic Harriers. I did contact Celtic Harriers to tell them how disappointed I am in Entry Ninja. I don’t think its Celtic Harriers responsibility.
Anyway. The customer laissez faire service person at Entry Ninja advised me to see if I could get a cancelled entry for the race from the club. I need 3, dude. And no, if I wanted to hustle for a race entry, I wouldn’t have entered TWO MONTHS ago.
So I decided to just forget it and do a hike instead. Boeta Cassiem chose Lions Head.
I haven’t done Lions Head in at least four years. I was not looking forward to it. I was excited for the hike because I love the route. But I was not looking forward to the crowds, the mess they leave behind, and the lack of mountain etiquette.
Fortunately, a group of good Samaritans had undertaken to do a clean-up of the trail on 18 February.
Best birthday present.
Lions Head Hiking Trail: The Stats
- Starting Point: The Lion’s Head mountain is part of the Table Mountain Nature Reserve and was voted the best urban hike, due to its proximity to the Cape Town city centre (according to our Pippapedia).
- It’s well sign-posted with a small gravel ‘parking lot’ opposite the main starting point. (Yes, there’s more than one way to conquer this lion.)
- Elevation: The summit is 669 meters (2195 feet) above sea level. The trail begins at an elevation of about 200 meters (656 feet), so the total elevation gain is around 470 meters (1535 feet). So a hill, basically. Meh. But a hill with teeth 😀
- Difficulty: The hiking trail is easy to moderately difficult, with a steep climb in some sections and some exposed areas with drop-offs. Please be careful. There have been fatalities on this route. When hikers/runners are coming the other way, those going up, have the right of way. Please allow them to pass. Keep towards the mountain side, so if you slip or lose your footing, you fall towards the mountain, and not off it.
- The route is well-maintained and there are some chains and ladders to assist hikers in the steeper sections.
- The hike usually takes around 2-3 hours to complete, depending on your fitness level and how many breaks you take. Take many breaks. The views of the city are worth it.
The Lions Head trail offers panoramic views of Cape Town, Table Mountain, and the Atlantic Ocean, making it a must-do hike for visitors — Which we could tell by the number of non-South African accents we heard along the route – and locals.
In a previous post I bemoaned the ‘Instagrammability’ of this hike; how casual hikers are more interested in taking a pic of themselves on the summit, rather than enjoying the actual hike and the views.
Another pet hate is the trail runners who are completely obnoxious sometimes.
This trail is always full, and the paths are narrow, with people coming both ways.
Good manners dictate that you wait your turn.
One girl wanted to jump the queue to go up the chains. You know I made her aware of the queue and that she had to get in back of the line.
I mean, why… run on the spot if you want to keep up your heartrate or get your Vitality points, but don’t come be ombeskof (rude) on the berg.
Another woman decided she was not going to wait for hikers coming up the chain so she could go down. She was just going to find another route, even if it was more dangerous.
Darwin award?
I told her what she did was stupid.
Now we know why most rescues occur on Lions Head. It’s like a magnet for irresponsible people.
Urrgh. I’m so irritated.
I remember why I don’t do that trail anymore.
The Route
We chose to take the ‘B’ route, which starts at the Karamat on Signal Hill Road.
There is a small parking lot outside the Karamat that is not visible from the road, allowing us a less-crowded start. (Although maybe not for much longer.)
The weather was perfect for hiking and Cape Town was showing off. The howling Southeaster AKA The ‘Cape Doctor’ had taken the day off from blowing up ladies’ skirts and threatening to upend buildings. I was greeted by Bashe with a happy birthday song, before starting the trail.
The ‘B’ route starts with a gentle walk up the Signal Hill side of the mountain with views of the Atlantic seaboard.
Chucky and I were late, due to road closures in the city centre as a result of the marathon and the others had gone ahead. It wasn’t long before we caught up with them.
At the contour we took a left and joined the circular path towards the top of the Lion’s head.
The mountain was beautifully clean of litter, and I want to thank all the volunteers who came out on Saturday to do the clean-up.
Sadly, on our way down we still picked up discarded water bottles.
The Route
I forgot to switch on my watch, so don’t have a route pic, but I found one online on AllTrails.
We pretty much joined the main route to the top of Lion’s head, just before the first steel ladder.
At this point we had a spectacular vantage point of an empty Camps Bay beach and we could see Llandudno in the distance. The trail spirals around the base of the mountain and if anyone has heights issues, they will start to feel it then.
As someone who had a once debilitating fear of heights, Lions Head cured me. The first time I did the trail, before the staples were placed there and there was just one long chain and the natural ‘steps’ in the rock you had to use to ascend and descend, I swore I would never do it again. I was terrified. The last scramble up to the summit is also debilitatingly scary. But I was back the next week and the next and before long, I had learned to manage the fear.
It gets easier. I promise.
We rate Lions Head an ‘easy’ hike.
And even after being away so long, I had no issues going up those chains and ladders.
If anyone wants to overcome their heights issues, I highly recommend this hiking trail to break the fear.
We were facing the city bowl now with views of the reservoir. When there are fires on the mountain, choppers use the reservoir resources to drop water bombs.
Sad to see how empty they are. We are having a silent water crisis, but everyone is so obsessed (and rightly so) with the power crisis, that the water crisis is taking a back seat.
Snakes & Ladders
Most people would be shocked to learn that there are at least one pair of breeding Puffadders below the ladders on Lions Head.
There are many more of course.
The snakes, even the lazy Puffies, try to avoid us humans, so they make themselves scarce. It must be traumatising for them to have thousands of people traipsing through their home on a daily basis.
The chains section of this trails is the most exciting part.
Please note, there is an alternative route. Just before the rockface where you will encounter the chains, the trail goes to the left. If you follow that path you will bypass the chains and come out above that rockface.
This is a recommended route for anyone who may feel daunted by the chains. There is no shame in that.
Or if you’re too impatient to wait.
As you can see, the queues are quite long. We did meet one obnoxious German tourist who didn’t want to wait.
Luckily, we did not catch him on video. What a doos (box).
If the trail is full and the crowds gather on both ends of the chains and/or ladders section, the rule of thumb is, 10 up, 10 down or even 5 up, 5 down.
We also ran into Fatima Sait, best hiking guide in Cape Town! She is on FB so hit her up if you need some guidance.
The chains especially can be tricky for inexperienced or novice hikers and can be terrifying for people who suffer from a fear of heights, so we must be patient. This was where one chick wanted to jump the queue and the other took a different, more dangerous way down. While the chains are tricky, I think the most dangerous section of this trail is just beyond that.
Once you climb up the chains, you will get to two massive pine trees. You can see the pine trees from kilometres away. They still bear fruit. I have munched on their pine kernels on many a mid-week hike.
The roots of these trees have been polished smooth and shiny from hikers’ hands and boots over the years. Which makes them quite slippery, especially after some rain. Be cautious. After that the little hump and then a scramble up, another ladder, before the final scramble to the summit.
At the second ladder, the queues both ways were crazy. We started a 5 up, 5 down process which worked very well. I missed this trail. And I was reminded again on Sunday, why I’ve avoided doing it. My sister and I would hike this trail every Wednesday afternoon.
Sure we saw tourists and other hikers, but the crowds are just next-level now. Even the pathways are worn by the sheer volume of hikers using the trail.
The SANPARKs closed it for a few months a few years ago, taking time to reinforce the ladders and chains etc.
The Summit
The panoramic views are their own reward.
We stopped for snacks and birthday cupcakes! As much as I irritated myself with the impatient ones, I enjoyed the hike.
It felt like coming home.
This was where my hiking journey took off.
This was where my love for the mountains took hold, nurtured and grew.
If there was ever a reluctant hiker, it was I.
Would I recommend this hiking trail?
Of course!
Despite my moaning, I do recommend Lions Head hiking trail.
There are many more reasons to do it, than not, especially for tourists, who are in Cape Town for a short time only and need to do the hike when they can.
For example, the panoramic views from Lions Head are second only to the views from Devil’s Peak. I prefer the latter, but that’s another post.
Lions Head is easily accessible and can be done by anyone, including children (under supervision) and the unfit. (The views are so worth the pain in your glutes the next day, I promise! 😊)
The trail is famous for its moonlight hikes, especially during full moon.
And sunrise hikes.
Please pack a headlamp and watch your step in the dark.
NB: the scorpions come out at night. They are non-venomous, so please don’t squash them.
Lions Head is an excellent training hike, like Platteklip, but less boring. If you want to gain experience scrambling and combatting that vertigo, this is the hike for you.
Enjoy!
PS: I think I am going to wait for the winter weekdays before I tackle this one again. I go to the mountains to escape the crowds…
Shuuuuu was just not your day from the start. Eish , You dont have climb, just walking You just need to walking on the pavements and you get runners from either direction leaves you spinning with your walking stick leaves you looking like you trying to “Pole-Dance” with.
Keep up Your running and climbing
Reagards
Piers
Excellent read.. So much information… Keep it up Bibs👏🏻👏🏻
Aslm Gabieba stunning pics. Love reading your Blog. Lions Head was one of my favourite hikes. It’s such a busy trail, now, that I don’t enjoy it any more. I hope your birthday celebrations was good and you were spoiled. Lots of love Sharifa Ismail