Cape Town - Table Mountain, Signal Hill & the Noon Gun

If you want to have a great view of Cape Town, the sea and Table Mountain, the best place for this is certainly the Signal Hill.

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The 350-metre-high Signal Hill in Cape Town

Signal Hill is part of Table Mountain National Park and is a mountain in Cape Town, along with Lion’s Head and Table Mountain. It is about 350 meters high and is both easy to reach on foot and by car.

On the flat top of the mountain there is a parking lot, which only offers space for about 30 cars. On weekends or at certain times of the day it can get quite crowded up there – the Signal Hill is also a popular jogging track.

The yellow photo frame on Signal Hill

Just a few meters away on foot from the parking lot is a yellow photo framethat perfectly frames the Table Mountain in the background. We had already seen a similar specimen at the V&A Waterfront.

Yellow Photo Frame, Signal Hill, Cape Town, Table Mountain, South Africa, Travelreport

The Yellow Photo Frame with Table Mountain

The view from Signal Hill

From Signal Hill you have a great view of the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, the Olympic Stadium, the city centre and the Bo-Kaap district on the one hand, and on the other side you have a great view of Table Mountain.

The Signal Hill in Cape Town

View of Downtown Cape Town

View of the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront

View of Cape Town, the Olympic Stadium

View of Mouille Point

View of the Clock Tower Waterfront

Cape Town Stadium

View of the Bo-Kaap district in Cape Town

Table Mountain in Cape Town

The Table Mountain,which significantly shapes the silhouette of Cape Town, is probably the most famous mountain in South Africa and is one of the 7 wonders of nature. The highest point is at 1,087 meters at the northeastern end of the rocky plateau. There are two ways to climb Table Mountain:

(1) There are numerous hiking trails with different levels of difficulty that lead up to the summit.

(2) Using the cable car – or Table Mountain Aerial Cableway – is probably the most convenient way to get up. Since 1929, the cable car has been on tafelberg and overcomes a height difference of 700 metres during the journey. Today, up to 900 people can be transported per hour.

Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa, Travelreport

Table Mountain in Cape Town

The Table Mountain with the District of Oranjezicht

The mountain and valley station of Table Mountain

The mountain station of The Table Mountain Aerial Cableway

Table Mountain in Cape Town

The Noon Gun on Signal Hill

One should not be surprised if you hear a loud bang at noon in Cape Town. These sounds come from the Noon Gun, which is fired every day at 12 o’clock from Monday to Saturday. You can also watch the spectacle yourself. To do this, simply drive over the Military Road in the Bo-Kaap district until you reach the launch site.

In the past, the cannons were used to send signals, i.e. cannon shots were fired to warn residents when they were sighting ships. Later, the cannons were used as a time signal for anchoring ships. At noon there was always a signal through the cannons, with the help of which the ships could adjust their ship chronometers. Tradition is that the shots are still fired at Signal Hill today. This is definitely a spectacle that should not be missed. And of course it also offers the possibility to adjust his watch correctly, because the cannon is coupled with Cape Town’s atomic clock.