Easiest
Lion's Head
Short and scenic
- RatingEasy
- Time up1 to 1.5 hours
- FinishLadder and chains
Deciding made easy
Lions Head vs Table Mountain hike: which one should you climb?
Lion's Head or Table Mountain guided hike
★ 5.0 · Rated by 2,127 guests
Two taps to your mountain
Lion's Head or Table Mountain?
Say how much effort you want and how you like your hikes, and a matching listing appears with its from-price.
The right fit for you
The guided Lion's Head hike
from $44
It lets you pick Lion's Head at sunrise or sunset when you book.
The right fit for you
A guided Table Mountain summit hike
from $59
It lasts 3 hours, with private or small groups and pickup available.
The right fit for you
The guided hike, India Venster option
from $44
The listing offers the adventurous India Venster route with some rock scrambling as one of its options.
The right fit for you
A cable car ticket
from $60
It is valid 7 days, wheelchair accessible and cancels free up to 24 hours before.
Cape Town's two famous mountains sit side by side and ask very different things of you. See height, time, difficulty and weather side by side, and the case for each.
Editorial team, lionsheadhike.top · Updated November 7, 2026 · A 6 min read
Main facts
- Lion's HeadAbout 2 km one-way, 1 to 1.5 hours up, rated easy by SANParks.1
- Platteklip GorgeAbout 3 km up, from 1 to 3 hours, rated moderate to tough.2
- The summitsLion's Head stands at 669 m, and Maclear's Beacon at 1,088 m.3,4
- One listing, bothOur guided listing lets you pick Lion's Head or Table Mountain.
- The cable carIt is the easy way up Table Mountain, says SANParks.5
A pair of mountains, one skyline
The Table Mountain vs Lion's Head hike question starts with the skyline: Lion's Head is the peak to the right of Table Mountain when you face it head on, so each one is the best place to look at the other.6 Lion's Head is the smaller one, with a summit at 669 m, and the highest point of Table Mountain, Maclear's Beacon, stands at 1,088 m.3,4 The difference in height is the root of nearly every other difference: time, effort, cold, wind and what you can see.
SANParks, which looks after both, describes Lion's Head as a short but popular hike with 360 degree views, and calls Table Mountain arguably one of the most well-known mountains in Africa, with the accolade of New 7 Wonders of Nature and routes from light strolls to rigorous hikes.6,7,8
The listing for the guided hike on this site lets you choose when booking between Lion's Head at sunrise, Lion's Head at sunset, Table Mountain by the Platteklip Gorge route or Table Mountain by the India Venster route. The same booking can therefore take you up either mountain, so the decision belongs to your legs and the weather, not to the listing.
Side by side
The routes compared
| Route | Distance | Time up | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lion's Head | About 2 km one-way1 | 1 to 1.5 hours1 | Easy, minor rock scrambling1 |
| Platteklip Gorge | About 3 km up2 | 1 to 3 hours2 | Moderate to tough2 |
| Skeleton Gorge | About 4 km16 | 2 to 4 hours one-way16 | Moderate16 |
| India Venster | Not stated | About 3.5 hours | Rugged, some scrambling |
SANParks figures for the first three routes and the listing's own figures for India Venster; the listing gives no distance.1,2
Lion's Head: the short, scenic hike
The park's description of Lion's Head is a quick one. The route is an easy spiral walk that starts on Signal Hill Drive below the peak, about 2 km one-way, 1 to 1.5 hours up and rated easy with some minor rock scrambling.3,1 The summit gives a 360-degree view of the city bowl, the front face of Table Mountain, the Atlantic seaboard, Table Bay and Robben Island.13
What you give up in height you gain in convenience. The trail starts just off Signal Hill Road, and the climb ends with a steel ladder, a chain handrail and an optional chain ladder that can be bypassed by an easier south-east ridge route.14,15 SANParks says children may need help at the chains and does not recommend dogs on the route.1
It is also the better mountain for looking at the other one. From the summit you face the front of Table Mountain, with Devil's Peak beside it, which is a view you cannot get from Table Mountain itself.13 If you plan a sunset or sunrise, Lion's Head is the natural choice, and the pages on this site on those times show when to leave.
Table Mountain by Platteklip Gorge
Platteklip Gorge is the direct route to the top of Table Mountain. SANParks calls it the most direct and the most popular, a path built with stone steps that is steep but not difficult to negotiate at any point, best tackled slowly.10 The park rates it moderate to tough depending on fitness and weather, at about 3 km up, taking from 1 hour for the super fit to 3 hours for the less fit.2
The mountain does not forgive a casual attitude. SANParks warns that Platteklip Gorge can be extremely hot or very cold and windy, and that the temperature at the top can be much lower than on Tafelberg Road, with an icy wind even in January and February.9 It adds that walkers should allow enough time to walk down even if they plan to ride the cableway, because rapid weather changes often shut the cableway unexpectedly.12
At the top, the highest point is a further walk. SANParks rates the walk from the upper cableway station to Maclear's Beacon as 5.5 km overall, 45 minutes to an hour one-way and easy, and says the Beacon stands at 1,088 m, only 21 m above the station.11,4 Reaching the plateau is an achievement in itself, but the Beacon rewards those who keep going.
The options
Lion's Head, Platteklip or India Venster
Most direct
Platteklip Gorge
The direct route
- RatingModerate to tough
- Time up1 to 3 hours
- SurfaceStone steps
Most thrilling
India Venster
The adventurous route
- RatingRugged
- Time upAbout 3.5 hours
- SurfaceRock scrambling
The India Venster route and the guided summit
The listing for our guided hike names a second Table Mountain route, India Venster, which it calls the adventurous one: rugged, uneven and less crowded, with some rock scrambling, and about 3.5 hours, against about 2.5 hours for the direct Platteklip Gorge route. It describes Platteklip Gorge as the less technical and more crowded option, a climb of hundreds of large rock steps from foot to summit.
The listing's Table Mountain options go up on foot and come down by cable car if it is open, or by the direct route if the cableway is closed. That matches the park's warning about the cableway shutting unexpectedly, so build the walk down into the plan.12 The listing asks for a good fitness level and an intermediate skill level for its trails, which is a higher bar than the park's easy rating for Lion's Head.1
Other guided Table Mountain hikes exist. One listing is a guided summit hike of 3 hours, with private or small groups and pickup available, and the cable car ticket, from $60, is the no-effort alternative on a separate listing. Compare their start times and inclusions on their own pages before you choose.
Ways up Table Mountain
Hike or ride: compare the prices
Pick the party size and compare the from price of each way up.
Weigh up 4 options
Hike or ride: compare the prices
Pick the party size and compare the from price of each way up.
- Our guided hikeLion's Head or Table · starting at, per person $44
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View - Guided summit hikeTable Mountain · starting at, per person $59
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View - Cable car ticketNo climbing · starting at, per person $60
≈
View - Cable car and busA full day · starting at, per person $61
≈
View
Starting prices on GetYourGuide, exchanged at the ECB reference rate. The booking page gives the exact price.
The Platteklip day
From the gorge to the plateau
The start
Tafelberg Road
The Platteklip route starts on Tafelberg Road and climbs the main gorge.9
The steps
Stone steps, slowly
The path is built with stone steps and is steep but not difficult.10
The top
Upper cableway station
The route leads to the Upper Cableway Station.2
The Beacon
Walk on to the summit
The walk to Maclear's Beacon is 5.5 km overall and easy.11
The descent
Plan your way down
Allow time to walk down, even if you plan to ride the cableway.12
Cloud, wind and what decides the day
Table Mountain is famous for its tablecloth, the cloud that pours down the slopes when the south-easter blows.8 Wind is a defining feature of the peninsula climate, with mean speeds of 20 to 40 km/hr, and SANParks says the weather on Table Mountain in particular is unpredictable and can change suddenly, with possible loss of visibility.19,17
That is the practical difference between the two. On the day the tablecloth is down, the top of the taller mountain may sit in cloud, and there is less to see from the plateau. Lion's Head is lower, and it faces Table Mountain across the saddle, so a cloud cap on the big mountain is something you look at from the smaller one. If the forecast is poor, choose the lower peak or postpone.
SANParks also says that, even in an urban setting, Table Mountain is a wild mountain with challenging climbs and sheer cliffs, so walkers should stick to the path and be kitted out for cold weather.18 The City of Cape Town advises not planning a hike during or just after bad weather, and the same advice covers either mountain.20
Video
Table Mountain and Lion's Head hiking guide in Cape Town
ON World Travel on YouTube · Your tap on play is what loads the video.
Famous for the tablecloth of clouds that pours endlessly down its slopes when the south-easter blows, this is a mountain of many moods and offers walkers and hikers a range of routes that vary from light strolls to rigorous hikes.
Before you choose
What to settle first
Your body3
Your weather3
Your booking3
- Choose your option when you book the guided hike
- Use free cancellation up to 24 hours before
- Compare the cable car if you want no climb
Which to do first, and how to see both
For a first visit, start with Lion's Head and save Table Mountain for a second day. The reasoning is plain from the park's own figures: Lion's Head is about 2 km one-way and rated easy, while Platteklip Gorge is moderate to tough and Skeleton Gorge, another popular route up Table Mountain, takes 2 to 4 hours one-way.1,2,16 A first mountain should teach you your pace without testing your limits.
If your time is short, there are three ways to cover both. Hike Lion's Head at sunset one day and ride the cable car up Table Mountain another, since SANParks points visitors who want the views without the exercise to the revolving cable car.5 Or book the guided hike and choose Table Mountain by one of its two routes. Or climb Lion's Head one evening and take the Platteklip route the next morning, once your legs have reported.
A third viewpoint is worth a mention. Signal Hill and Lion's Head make a natural pair, and Signal Hill is the northernmost tip of Table Mountain National Park, with excellent views of the city and harbour, and the noon day gun fires there to mark 12:00 in Cape Town.21 The road to the Lion's Head trailhead is named after it, Signal Hill Road, so a visit to the lookout is easy to combine with the climb or to keep for a rest day.
FAQ
Fast, clear answers, short.
Which is harder, Lion's Head or Table Mountain?
How much higher is Table Mountain?
Can one booking do either mountain?
How long does Platteklip Gorge take?
Can I come down by cable car?
Which mountain is better in cloud?
Is Lion's Head or Signal Hill better for a view?
Sources
- South African National Parks (SANParks), official page, archived copy · Hikes, walks and trails ↩
- South African National Parks (SANParks), official page, archived copy · Hikes, walks and trails ↩
- South African National Parks (SANParks), official page, archived copy · Hikes, walks and trails ↩
- South African National Parks (SANParks), official page, archived copy · Hikes, walks and trails ↩
- South African National Parks (SANParks), official page, archived copy · Table Mountain ↩
- South African National Parks (SANParks), official page, archived copy · Lion’s Head & Signal Hill ↩
- South African National Parks (SANParks), official page, archived copy · Table Mountain ↩
- South African National Parks (SANParks), official page, archived copy · Table Mountain ↩
- South African National Parks (SANParks), official page, archived copy · Hikes, walks and trails ↩
- South African National Parks (SANParks), official page, archived copy · Hikes, walks and trails ↩
- South African National Parks (SANParks), official page, archived copy · Hikes, walks and trails ↩
- South African National Parks (SANParks), official page, archived copy · Hikes, walks and trails ↩
- South African National Parks (SANParks), official page, archived copy · Hikes, walks and trails ↩
- Cape Town Tourism (official regional tourism organisation) · Cape Town’s ideal winter hikes ↩
- Cape Town Tourism (official regional tourism organisation) · Take a hike up Lion’s Head ↩
- South African National Parks (SANParks), official page, archived copy · Hikes, walks and trails ↩
- South African National Parks (SANParks), official page, archived copy · Safety tips and precautions ↩
- South African National Parks (SANParks), official page, archived copy · Table Mountain ↩
- South African National Parks (SANParks), official page, archived copy · Climate ↩
- City of Cape Town (capetown.gov.za) · Explore our mountains, fynbos and forests ↩
- South African National Parks (SANParks), official page, archived copy · Lion’s Head & Signal Hill ↩
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