Table Mountain Aerial Cableway, Aerial tramway at Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa.
Table Mountain Aerial Cableway is an aerial tramway in Cape Town, South Africa, that carries visitors from the base to the summit plateau. The cabins hang from thick steel cables and float above steep rock faces with native vegetation below.
A Norwegian engineer presented the first plans in 1926 and a German company completed construction by 1929. Since then the cabins have been upgraded several times, with the most recent renovation introducing the rotating floors.
The cableway's name appears on the cabins themselves: the blue lower body carries the word "VISA" in white capitals, a sponsor marking visible on the car in the photograph. The upper station, at 1,067 metres on the western end of the plateau, offers free guided walking tours and an audio tour, so the ride is often paired with a ranger-led walk across the top.
Visitors should arrive early in the morning or late afternoon to find shorter waiting times and better visibility. Strong winds can temporarily halt operations, so checking weather conditions beforehand is advisable.
The cabins spin around their own axis during the ride and show every passenger all compass directions in turn. Some visitors report that the rotation happens so smoothly they barely notice it.
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