The Cape of Good Hope Hiking Trail is the one overnight route SANParks still publishes in Table Mountain National Park, and it is the strongest walking proposition on the southern peninsula. A 33.8 kilometre circuit starting and finishing at the main gate, it takes two days with a night in a hut, and it crosses ground most visitors only see from a car park.
The operating rules are firmer than on a day walk and worth knowing before you book. There is a minimum of two hikers and a minimum age of twelve, with under-eighteens accompanied by an adult. You must set out before 09:00 on the first day and leave the hut by 09:00 on the second. Day visitors are not admitted to the huts and private vehicles cannot be taken to them, though secure overnight parking is provided at the gate and porterage is available.
Accommodation is in two twelve-sleeper huts, Protea and Restio. Booking goes through TMNP Reservations, and the daily conservation fee is paid separately at the Cape Point gate, which takes card only and charges once per vehicle. Baboons are active in this section: SANParks asks hikers to keep food out of sight on the trail and to lock the hut doors and windows behind them. No dogs are permitted anywhere in the Cape of Good Hope section.
