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Cape Town Hidden Gems Locals Love (That Tourists Usually Miss)
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items You've done Table Mountain, the Waterfront and Boulders. Now it's time to see the Cape Town locals keep to themselves. These are the tidal pools, secret coves, forest waterfalls and quiet viewpoints I head to when I want great light without the crowd...
Map
A steep but rewarding trail from Camps Bay up the back of Table Mountain to a flat slab of rock that juts out over the Atlantic, nicknamed the ‘diving board’. It's the photo everyone wants and far quieter than the famous routes. Start early, wear pro...
Kasteelspoort Trail (the 'Diving Board')
A peaceful mountain reservoir in the Silvermine section of Table Mountain National Park, with tea-coloured water, a wooden boardwalk and fynbos all around. It's perfect for a picnic, a gentle loop walk or a cold dip on a hot day. There's a small SANP...
Silvermine Reservoir
Muizenberg's huts get all the attention, but St James has its own row of brightly painted Victorian bathing huts right beside a calm, sheltered tidal pool. It's free, family-friendly and gorgeous at sunrise, when the light comes straight across False...
St James Tidal Pool
Just past Camps Bay, this pocket of Table Mountain National Park has sheltered coves, crystal-clear water and giant granite boulders that make natural sun loungers. It's a favourite for picnics, snorkelling and diving (there's even a shipwreck offsho...
Oudekraal (Nature Reserve)
The rusted boiler and ribs of the SS Kakapo, a steamship that ran aground in 1900, still sit in the sand on the long, wild sweep of Noordhoek Beach. It's one of the most atmospheric photo spots in the Cape, especially at golden hour with Chapman's Pe...
Kakapo Shipwreck, Noordhoek Beach
Locals come here for sunrise. This granite memorial on the slopes of Devil's Peak looks out over the Cape Flats to the Hottentots-Holland mountains, so the first light of the day pours straight towards you. There's a tearoom behind it for breakfast a...
Rhodes Memorial
A shady forest walk from the Cecilia parking area on Rhodes Drive leads to a mossy ravine and a pretty waterfall tucked into the back of Table Mountain. It flows best in winter and after good rain, and the soft, even light in the ravine is lovely for...
Cecilia Ravine Waterfall
The easiest ‘wow’ hike in Cape Town. This mostly flat path starts near Kloof Nek and contours along the back of the Twelve Apostles, with Camps Bay and the Atlantic below you the whole way. Walk as far as you like and turn back. Go in the late aftern...
The Pipe Track
Skip the busy Main Road and take this quiet mountain road that runs above Muizenberg, St James and Kalk Bay. There are pull-offs with sweeping views over False Bay, and in whale season (roughly June to November) you can often spot southern right whal...
Boyes Drive
A secluded bay just before the Cape Point gate, reached by a steep footpath down from the road. There's no electricity, just a cluster of old holiday shacks, turquoise water and total quiet. Divers know it for the ships scuttled offshore. The view fr...
Smitswinkel Bay
A little rock-lined tidal pool between St James and Kalk Bay that's a favourite with early-morning swimmers. Rock pools around it are full of anemones and tiny fish at low tide, which makes it brilliant for kids and macro photography. Pair it with th...
Dalebrook Tidal Pool
A shady network of forest trails on the eastern slopes of Table Mountain, loved by local dog walkers and trail runners but rarely visited by tourists. Tall pines and indigenous trees, mountain streams and dappled light make it gorgeous for moody fore...
Newlands Forest
A sleepy village near Cape Point with a wide, wild white-sand beach that most visitors drive straight past. It's surrounded by fynbos and granite boulders, including the famous Camel Rock formation just up the road. The water is freezing and swimming...
Scarborough Beach
A historic arboretum planted in the 1880s at the foot of the Constantiaberg, with towering trees from around the world, shady picnic spots and a charming little tea garden. It's also the start of the hike up to Elephant's Eye Cave, which has sweeping...
Tokai Arboretum
Most visitors to the Cape Point reserve drive straight to the lighthouse and miss this remote bay on the Atlantic side. From the parking area, the shipwreck trail leads along the coast to the rusting remains of the Thomas T. Tucker and the Nolloth, w...
Olifantsbos Beach