Table Mountain National Park

Welcome to Table Mountain National Park, South African jewel, international tourism icon and Natural World Heritage Site.
Situated at the south-western tip of Africa, the Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) encompasses the incredibly scenic Table Mountain Chain stretching from Signal Hill in the north to Cape Point in the south and the seas and coastline of the peninsula.

The narrow finger of land with its beautiful valleys, bays and beaches is surrounded by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean in the west and the warmer waters of False Bay and has within its boundaries two world-renowned landmarks - majestic Table Mountain and the legendary Cape of Good Hope.

The Park is recognised globally for its extraordinarily rich, diverse and unique fauna and flora - with rugged cliffs, steep slopes and sandy flats - is a truly remarkable natural, scenic, historical, cultural and recreational asset both locally and internationally. Nowhere else in the world does an area of such spectacular beauty and such rich bio-diversity exist almost entirely within a metropolitan area - the thriving and cosmopolitan city of Cape Town.

A unique feature of the TMNP is that it is primarily an open access Park with only three points where conservation fees are payable, Cape of Good Hope, Boulders and Silvermine, the rest of the Park is open access and free for all to enjoy.

Activities
Because the Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) includes mountains, beaches, forests and oceans there is a variety of popular recreational activities for outdoor enthusiasts. However, because the Park receives in excess of 4.2 million visits per year, regulations and permits apply to certain of these activities in order to minimize the impacts on the environment. Users of the Park are asked to respect the environment at all times to assist us in protecting our unique natural heritage for the benefit of current and future generations.

It is recommended that you purchase Mountains in the Sea – an Interpretive Guide to Table Mountain National Park by award winning environmental journalist John Yeld. The book comprehensively covers all aspects of the Park from biodiversity issues to popular hikes and history. It is available from TMNP outlets at:

Westlake, Tel. 021 701 8692,
Boulders Penguin Colony, Tel. 021 786 2392 and
Buffelsfontein Visitor Centre, Tel. 021 780 9204.

For more information visit www.sanparks.org

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