As you stand by the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront on your Cape Town holidays, you are surrounded by stunning views, worthy of any postcard. The skyline you will see is like no other, due to its three significant adornments – the flat-topped Table Mountain, the spired Devil’s Peak and the dome-shaped Lion’s Head. Such a magnificent backdrop is certainly worth a photograph or ten.

Table Mountain

Visible from almost every point you will go to on Cape Town holidays, Table Mountain is undisputedly one of South Africa’s greatest landmarks. Standing tall at 1087 metres, the sandstone mountain is one of a kind. Its flat summit, often immersed in cloud, can be reached by a cable car, which gives you a 360 degree view over Cape Town as you go up and down the mountain. A trip to the mountain plateau affords you some of the most spectacular views that South Africa has to offer, as you look out over a panorama encompassing Table Bay and False Bay, and stretching all the way around the mountain to Hout Bay. As well as enjoying the view, you are also likely to witness the mountain’s diverse wildlife, with a rich selection of flora and fauna that are endemic to the unique eco-system contained on Table Mountain. Keeping watch over the city, Table Mountain is a prominent part of the skyline of Cape Town. Holidays to the city that don’t incorporate a trip to the plateau are certainly incomplete.

Devil’s Peak

To the east of Table Mountain, Devil’s Peak’s spiky appearance leaves it standing in great contrast with its neighbouring mountains. Legends speak of pirates and smoke blowing competitions with the devil that not only resulted in the clouds that form around the peak but also afforded the mountain its name. Though it stands slightly shorter than its neighbour Table Mountain, Devil’s Peak offers just as magnificent a view. There is only one safe path to the summit, but if you are energetic enough to take it, you will be rewarded with yet another 360 degree view, showing you the best of one of South Africa’s most stunning cities. If your Cape Town holidays are incorporating Table Mountain, Devil’s Peak is definitely worth adding to the itinerary.

Cape of Good Hope

Widely recognised as an area of outstanding natural beauty that contains fascinating flowers and wildlife, the Cape of Good Hope is part of the Cape Peninsula Park and provides a wonderful escape from the more metropolitan side of Cape Town holidays. The location of the nature reserve – where two oceans meet – means that there are frequently strong prevailing winds. The combination of these winds and the sandstone soil in the area has resulted in some unique growing conditions, and an enormous variety of Cape Fynbos, or ‘fine bush’. In fact, with over 1000 species of fine bush, the Cape of Good Hope has one of the highest concentrations of this species in the world.

Cape Town holidays give you the chance to see some of the most fascinating flora and fauna in South Africa at ground level. But with the skyline surrounding Cape Town being one of the most impressive in the world, be sure to explore the heights of the surrounding mountains as well.