Cape Town rightly bagged its name as “The Best City in the World” and “The Best Food City in the World.” With extraordinary landscape, stunning natural beauty, mountains, historic sites, pristine beaches and friendly people, Cape Town is one of the most popular tourist destinations. This is also the second largest city and the legislative capital of South Africa. Cape Town’s connectivity with the rest of the world is excellent drawing over 1.7 million travellers visiting here annually. You can find the world here famous “Table Mountain” and other mesmerizing beaches, harbors, etc. with elegance in their natural beauty. During your visit to Cape Town, you can also enjoy a large number of outdoor activities. It includes hiking, surfing, paragliding, whale-watching and cage dives with great white sharks. The city is also iconic as listed its name in the UNESCO World Heritage site list for cape point and penguins waddle. In and around the city has numerous impressive locations to tour and visit as well. There are delicious and unique cuisines available here for all food lovers. The “To Do” list is big but here is a comprehensive guide about the best things to do in Cape Town.
Table Mountain
If Nature is called “The Queen” Mountains are for sure “The King” and Table Mountain is an iconic example for it. The flat top mountain rising 1000 meters height above the sea level is a beauty in its own. This is the most photographed landmark and famous place for hiking. The entire mountain is formed through sandstone and slate. A small animal called the rock rabbit lives here and it’s a unique sight to see them running around. You can reach to the top of this gigantic mountain through a cable car ride. The cableway covers a large distance of over 1200 meters and brings you at the Top of this Natural Wonder. However, for adventure lovers, hiking is the best way to explore the mountain and reach the summit. There are over 350 different hiking routes available with various levels of difficulty to reach the mountain summit. Enjoy breathtaking views from the top and completely submerged into nature while you enjoy the fresh mountain air. Go for this mountain hiking for an unforgettable experience.
Explore the city
Cape Town is a beautiful city with many iconic landmarks, gardens and churches all around the place. You can find here the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens with more than 20,000 native South African plant species. This is a large park spread across an area of above 528 hectares. You visit the City Hall and the Castle of Good Hope standing tall for its history and architectural brilliance. Also, visit the District Six Museum and understand the old history attached to it. A city sightseeing tour is therefore important to explore many such iconic places inside the city. Few are also at a walking distance. Enjoy this tour at your own pace in an open roof-top double-decker bus. See all the famous landmarks like – The Clock Tower, Table Mountain Aerial Cableway, Kirstenbosch Gardens, World of Birds, Imizamo Yethu Township, The South African Museum, District Six Museum, St. George’s Cathedral, Castle of Good Hope, Groot Constantia, Eagles’ Nest and Beau Constantia.
Meet Penguins
Enjoy watching Penguins in their natural environment at Boulder’s Bay in Simon’s Town. This place is just an hour’s drive from Cape Town and an exotic place for nature lovers. Here you can find over 2000 varieties of African Penguins. The entire location has mesmerizing scenic beauty and is actually a part of the Table mountain National Park Marine Protected Area. You can also find here giant granite boulders, rock pools and calm bays bringing in perfect picturesque beauty. Also, explore the Cape Point UNESCO World Heritage Site and Discover the Cape Point Nature Reserve together. This is an amazing family friendly tour for all animal and beach lovers and a must to include in the top to-do list.
Shark Cage Diving
Do you know that in Cape Town you can actually meet the most feared predators, the great white sharks? Sounding unbelievable but it’s true. You can actually dive and meet this feared species. This tour is definitely a spine-chilling encounter and a lifetime experience for anyone looking for thrill and adventure. Along with Sharks, you can also find Jackass Penguins, Oystercatchers and seals living in the chilly waters of Cape Town’s coast. In order to enjoy this spine-chilling experience, you are taken to Gansbaai, also known as the Shark capital of the world. From there, go ahead to Dyer Island for this ultimate thrilling experience. This is an entirely guided diving experience along with a master diver. Never miss this extraordinary thrill as it is definitely a lifetime experience.
Cape of Good Hope
To personify the brilliance and beauty of Nature, there is no better place than the Cape of Good Hope. The extraordinary natural beauty where you see the clouds touching the sky can’t be seen elsewhere. Once you reach here, get completely lost with the extraordinary scenic beauty can’t be seen elsewhere. At this place, you can find animals like the zebras and Eland. You also find here over 1000 unique indigenous plants and spot whales, in case you are visiting during the months of June to November.
Final Verdict
Cape Town’s popularity among backpackers is obvious because of this vastly diversified attraction and natural beauty spread across. Plan a visit to Cape Town and get surprised to see many wonders waiting for you!