Hiking the India Venster Route up Table Mountain
I’m on a ledge 3 feet wide looking straight down over the edge of Table Mountain. I’ve just come up 10 feet from the last ledge, using metal rungs to pull myself up a sheer rock wall. I look up above and see another 15 feet or so of vertical rock, with a few more metal rungs and a chain at the top. I can feel my knees start to tremble and I know that if I wait too long to go up I might not be able to do it at all. What a shitty idea this was.
I’ll start at the beginning.
India Venster is one of the most popular hikes in Cape Town. Reading about the hike I had some doubts. The hike requires ‘scrambling‘, which is defined as “the basic use of arms, in addition to legs, to negotiate steep terrain“. I might love hiking (and heights) but I sometimes, surprisingly, get sudden and incredible bouts of vertigo when faced with sheer drops. Further reading on the hike tells me that “scrambling will require the use of arms to pull up, sometimes in proximity of sheer drops“. Exactly what I don’t like. But I booked anyway.
Accommodation recommendations: Mid-range: Neighbourgood 84 Harrington, Budget: THE BIG – Luxury Backpackers or Ashanti Lodge Backpackers. High-end: 51 on Camps Bay.
The meetup was at 5:45 am at Table Mountain’s lower cable car station. I had brought the required 1.5 L of water, snacks, a hat and sunscreen. We were 10 people, plus two guides. After a quick briefing we started up the path.
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India Venster is a 3.5 hr hike (one way) to the top of Table Mountain. It is categorized as a Grade B hike, which requires some scrambling (Grade A hikes are walking only, Grade C hikes require ‘demanding’ scrambling, with the use of ropes).
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At a certain point, which is basically when the photo below was taken, you realize that the next part will be more challenging. That’s because all you see in front of you is a sheer wall of rock stretching from one side of the mountain to another.
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Walking had been easy to this point. Now, faced with the wall of rock, came what would be the hardest part of the hike.
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And then we get to the part where I started off this post: the sheer rock wall, the rungs, and the chain. See the photo below? (it’s not mine – I wasn’t pulling out my camera on a 3 foot ledge). There are a few rungs and they help you – but they’ll only ‘help’ you in getting to a level where there are cracks and juts in the rock that you can grab on to to get higher. The rungs are in no way a ladder. This is when the guides showed their expertise: showing us where to step, where to hold, and how to hoist yourself up to the next level. For about 50 feet of rock, they guided us, step-by-step and handhold-by-handhold, up the rockface.
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Having conquered the rocks (which although only about 50 feet took about 30 minutes) we arrived at the resting area in the photo below. That’s when our guide told us about the rungs we had just climbed: they’d been put in place just a few years ago after 6 hikers had died in the same section in the span of less than a year. It’s easily the hardest section of the India Venster route. He tells us of people he’s brought up, from 5 year olds to a 79 year old lady, who’ve climbed it. He also told us a few stories of young, fit guys – with big booming voices and firm handshakes – who would have tears coming out of their eyes when faced with climbing the rocks. So you never know how different people will react.
It might look from seeing the rock face in the photos above that more climbing was required. No, from this point on the route would follow a path around the side and to the back of the mountain. It would actually be the easiest – and most visually impressive – portion of the hike.
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We arrived at the summit by 10 am. It’s kind of weird: you climb for 4 hours in peace and quiet, enjoying the tranquil nature and beauty…then suddenly you take that last step onto the Table top and you see Japanese tourists in bright pastel colours and fat kids sucking on ice cream cones. And they look at you like you’ve just appeared from outer space.
So did I get over my fear of ‘scrambling over sheer drops’? No. But doing something that scares you gives you a sense of accomplishment. I walked around feeling pretty good the rest of the day. Did I enjoy the hike? I loved it. There are so many different hikes around Table Mountain, all with different vistas and sights along the way. Cape Town is hiking heaven and I think you have to do at least one hike up the mountain when here.
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Top Hiking Tours to Experience in Cape Town
Note: You’ll see the India Venster hike up above. You can book it there. Don’t do it without a guide! The other recommended hike is the Lion’s Head hike that is also up there. That one you can do without a guide. But if you’re looking for someone to organize it for you then I would recommend booking up top. Both are great hikes.
So, would you do India Venster?
Related: Taking the Cable Car up Table Mountain
Related: Photo Highlights of the Cape Peninsula
Related: 15 Things to Do in and around Cape Town, South Africa
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Yep remember it well, we used India Venster to access the climbing ledges on the higher buttress. In my younger days used to run this route after work in the evenings. It was beautiful scree running down at sunset.
However take it from me having been involved in several mountain rescues over the years…….three on this mountain….Table Mountain is not a place to mess about if you don’t have some mountain experience.
It all looks great on a nice day but conditions change quickly up there when the cloud comes down especially if you don’t know the mountain well.
The metal rungs in your photo were placed on this route after a fatal accident around 2010 involving a young Dutch tourist. The young lady died in my brothers arms having suffered nasty head injuries.
A few years before that my brother and I rescued a young lady whose idiot friends led her down a steep scramble to cut off a section of the India Venster route…..she was lucky not to end up dead. We had to climb up to her and fix an abseil to get her off…..around the same month a rock climber pulled a block off a route I soled the week before!
It narrowly missed his friend but crushed his foot, we had to lower him off the route and get him off the mountain.
I can totally believe it Colin. I found it pretty scary not being used to climbing. We were in Cape Town 3 months and often saw how the weather changed and THAT wind blew. I’d be totally freaked out hiking and getting stuck in those conditions.
Oh, so India Venster was your evening jog after work? 🙂 I’ve said it before – CT was of the most incredible places I’ve been. Loved the geography, the botanical life, even the crazy bugs…jeez. Hadn’t been back to Africa in 30 years and there’s something special about it.
We’re in Split (Croatia) which will be our base for at least the next year. The geography is eerily similar and we have a mountain here where tourists also get stuck and where they also have to call on mountain rescue. The mountains are higher than in CT – but the peaks in CT much steeper. I’d have to read on the geography. But Table Mountain itself in parts just a straight rock wall up. Makes me think of The Wall in the Game of Thrones. Unbelievable and I remember the first time there looking straight down. I can totally understand how people can get in dangerous situations. I have lots of respect for rescuers who get these people off the mountain…
Hi Frank! I just did the India Venster hike. Reading your posts about South Africa was really helpful so I’d like to thank you! I was quite scared after I saw the photos and also after I nearly died hiking the Tatra mountains. I thought of doing the trail on my own but just to make sure, I went to the information centre and the lady there scared the c**p out of me saying that this trail is only for professional climbers and you must have a guide. So I took the guide you recommended. At first, I thought it was a waste of money because the beginning was so simple. But the rock wall was quite an experience! I loved it, I wasn’t scared at all, maybe because of that terrifying experience in Tatra mountains, however it was a great challenge. Also, the trail wasn’t marked properly so I’m happy I took the guide in the end. It was an amazing hike! Did you see those little cute animals on top of the table mountain? They pose for photos, it’s so cool! They are called dassies.
Hey Tom! Your comment made my day, I’m so glad you did the hike and that you enjoyed it. The views are amazing, right? Did you do it with Riian? I hope you mentioned you know me 🙂 I’m jealous because I wish I was there right now doing it all over again…I really miss Cape Town. How are you enjoying it overall? DON’T miss doing the Lion’s Head hike, very easy but the views are phenomenal.
Yes, we saw the dassies all over the place.
I hope you are enjoying South Africa and I really look forward to reading your posts when you get back! 🙂
Back to your comment – yes, it was the only 1 or 3 hikes I did in Cape Town that I really recommend you have a guide. First of all, it really helps if you freak out because of the rungs. He’ll show you how to maneuver your way up. But secondly, as you say, you may get lost with all the different trails up there.
Oh wow that is something! Definitely the best views and photos of all that you’ve posted about the Table Mountain. The route was really amazing too – must have been exciting! Now I really envy you and I must try to do it! I experienced a very similar hike with chains and metal steps in the Tatra Mountains. It was June and it was extremely hot but in the upper parts there was still a lot of snow. It was one of the most frightening experiences as you could slip and fall down off the mountain ledge easily with no chances of surviving. But in the end, I loved it, the views were unforgettable!
I have a question – do you have to do it with a guide or can you just hike yourself?
Hi Tom – yes, you can do on your own, the trails are well demarcated. But a guide is a good idea for the tougher ones.
Tatra mountains quite rugged I hear. Would love do some hiking there. But no cable car down, right ?
You might be right, a guide could be a good idea for the more difficult routes.
Well, there is a cable car from Zakopane to Kasprowy Wierch peak (1950 meters above the sea level). From there, you can continue hiking to other peaks or go down to the beautiful valley full of clear, transparent lakes. I wouldn’t recommend the cable car though. It’s overpriced and hiking is really pleasant (you can choose easy trails too). I’ve just posted a post about Zakopane so you might have a look.
Maybe, just maybe – but would start with an easier ‘introduction’ like the trail up from Kirstenbosch !!! It must hv been a really wonderful experience – and as you say the beers (?) afterwards must hv been really enjoyable – all 5 or 6 of them…