De Hel Nature Area, Protected nature reserve on Table Mountain slopes, Cape Town, South Africa.

De Hel Nature Area is a 21.3-hectare reserve protecting a river valley and indigenous forest on the lower eastern slopes of Table Mountain in Cape Town. The Spaanschemat River runs through steep slopes covered in Southern Afrotemperate Forest, with Peninsula Granite Fynbos and an open meadow where fruit trees from earlier cultivation remain.

Khoi-khoi herders used trails through this land before the Dutch established a woodcutter's post here. Its forests later became a retreat for runaway slaves. In March 2012, Heritage Western Cape declared De Hel a provincial heritage site under Section 27 of the National Heritage Resources Act, the highest protection under South African heritage law.

The name De Hel means "Hell" in Dutch, given by Dutch settlers who established a woodcutter's post in these forests. The same forests later sheltered runaway slaves, who used the valley as a retreat. Visitors can still follow the line of old trails once used by Khoi-khoi herders crossing this land.

Wear sturdy footwear and plan your visit to finish before sunset, as trails lead deep into forest and narrow ravines that can quickly become disorienting. Parking is available during daylight hours, and the terrain becomes slippery and harder to navigate after rain.

The reserve's lower end holds "the Meadow", where fruit trees from earlier cultivation still stand among the indigenous forest. Several hundred plant species have been recorded here, including the Silvertree (Leucadendron argenteum) and Erica phylicaefolia. Invasive alien plants threaten both the forest and the fynbos.