CAPE TOWN ACTIVITIES
Waterfall, River and Forest Hikes in Cape Town
Most walking around Cape Town is a conversation about rock. These seven walks are about the other half of the landscape: kloofs with water in them, forest on the eastern slopes, and rivers you follow rather than ridges you climb.
Silvermine Reservoir Boardwalk
A boardwalk along the bank of the Silvermine reservoir that SANParks puts at roughly twenty-five minutes, level throughout and a short distance from the day-visitor parking. The water is the whole outing rather than a destination you walk to, which makes it the one entry here that is as good in February as in August.
The Silvermine reservoir boardwalk is the shortest walk we list, and it is here deliberately. SANParks identifies a boardwalk trail of approximately twenty-five minutes on the banks of the reservoir, and it is level the whole way, which makes it the one outing in Silvermine that suits people who cannot manage a mountain path.
It starts at the reservoir day-visitor parking inside Gate 1 on Ou Kaapse Weg, and runs beside the water. Two much longer routes leave from the same area, the Panorama Loop and the climb to Elephant’s Eye, so it is worth being clear which one you are setting out on before you park.
Silvermine is a gated section, so a daily conservation fee is payable at the gate, which takes card only, and last entry is an hour before closing.
Disa Kloof Trail
About 950 metres from the entrance of Harold Porter National Botanical Garden to the Disa Kloof waterfall, half an hour each way, level and permit-free. The garden sits in a kloof between the mountain and the sea at Betty’s Bay, so the walk is short but the setting is not modest.
Disa Kloof is the short one, and it is here because of what it does rather than how far it goes. It is a very easy short trail, 950 m from the garden entrance up the kloof to the waterfall, about thirty minutes each way. What matters is the surface: the whole route is accessible to wheelchair users and to parents pushing prams, which is rare enough on this coast to be the point of the page. The garden lends two wheelchairs free at the entrance gate.
Harold Porter sits at the foot of the Kogelberg mountains in Betty’s Bay, on the corner of Clarence Drive and Broadwith Road, and it is open every day of the year. Admission is payable at the gate. The walk leaves from the entrance and follows the kloof up to the falls, through cultivated garden that gives way to the natural fynbos estate behind it. If you come between late December and the end of January, the red disas are flowering in this kloof.
Do not confuse it with Leopard’s Kloof, the other waterfall walk in the same garden. That one needs a permit and a key collected before one in the afternoon, and it climbs river crossings and a series of ladders. Disa Kloof asks nothing of you but half an hour, and ordinary shoes will do.
Cecilia Waterfall via Cecilia Forest
A climb from the Constantia forest entrance through pine and fynbos to a waterfall our record calls seasonal, and the word is accurate. After winter rain the fall justifies the climb; by the end of summer the forest does the work instead. It is the closest thing to a woodland walk the city has.
The Cecilia Waterfall hike is one of the most rewarding short walks on the eastern slopes of Table Mountain, leading through the beautiful indigenous woodlands of Cecilia Forest to a picturesque waterfall hidden within Cecilia Ravine. The trail combines shaded forest paths, mountain streams and panoramic viewpoints, making it a favourite for hikers looking for a refreshing escape close to the city.
Starting from the Cecilia Forest parking area on Rhodes Drive, the route follows well-marked trails beneath towering yellowwood and pine trees before climbing gently into the ravine. The highlight is Cecilia Waterfall, where water cascades over rocky cliffs into a cool mountain pool, particularly impressive after winter rainfall. Despite its relatively short distance, the hike feels wonderfully secluded thanks to the dense forest canopy and tranquil surroundings.
Suitable for most hikers with a moderate level of fitness, Cecilia Waterfall offers an excellent introduction to Table Mountain National Park and is one of Cape Town’s most popular waterfall walks.
Tweede Waterval (Second Waterfall)
The gentlest of Jonkershoek’s four official trails leaves the hairpin bend on the reserve road and follows the Eerste River upstream, passing the first waterfall on the way to the second. Because the river is beside you the whole way, this one does not depend on rainfall to be worth doing.
Tweede Waterval is the gentlest of the four official trails in Jonkershoek Nature Reserve, and the one most visitors do. The path leaves the hairpin bend on the reserve’s circular route and follows the Eerste River upstream, passing the first waterfall on the way to the second.
It is short enough to fit around lunch and easy enough for children, which is why CapeNature allows 250 people a day on it rather than the 100 permitted on the mountain routes. It also doubles as the final descent of the Panorama Circuit, so anyone walking the long day will finish along this same path.
Leopards Kloof Trail
The steeper of Harold Porter’s two waterfall walks, and the one that asks something. A permit and a gate key are issued at the garden entrance, the path crosses the river three times, and ladders lead up to the second fall. If you are already in Betty’s Bay for Disa Kloof, this is the grown-up version.
Leopards Kloof is the demanding walk at Harold Porter, and the one you cannot simply wander onto. A permit and a gate key are issued at the garden entrance, and the gate stays locked behind you both going in and coming out. Keys are not handed out after one in the afternoon and must be back by four. This is a walk you arrive early for.
The path rises briefly, then drops to the first river crossing. There are three crossings in all, and after them a series of ladders climbs to the second and then the third waterfall. The base of the third waterfall is the end of the route, and you come back down the way you went up. Allow more time than you think, and work backwards from the four o’clock key deadline.
After heavy rain permission may simply be refused, because the stream crossings become dangerous. Sturdy shoes are required here, ordinary ones are not enough, and no swimming is allowed in the pools or anywhere else on the garden estate.
Palmiet River Trail
Kogelberg is the heart of the Cape Floral Kingdom and most of its routes are long days. This one follows the Palmiet River, stays low and is graded easy by CapeNature. It is the best walk in this guide for somebody who wants water and plants rather than water and a climb.
Kogelberg is the heart of the Cape Floral Kingdom and most of its trails are long: 22 km to Perdeberg, 24 km on the Kogelberg Trail, a two-day crossing on the Highlands. The Palmiet River Walk is the exception. It is 10 km over about three hours, an easy walk along the Palmiet River, which makes it the way into this reserve for people who want the fynbos and the water without committing a whole day to a mountain.
The reserve is reached off the R44 between Kleinmond and Betty’s Bay, down a gravel road to the Oudebosch reception where permits are issued. Buy the permit there or book it in advance through CapeNature. Day-visitor parking is limited and works on a first come, first served basis, so an early arrival is worth more here than it is at most reserves. CapeNature recommends starting the walk no later than two in the afternoon.
Two things worth knowing. Easy is CapeNature’s grading, not a comment on the length, and ten kilometres is still ten kilometres, so take water and closed shoes. And there is no cell reception inside the reserve, with the last signal at the turn from the tar onto the gravel. Tell someone where you are going before you lose it.
Panorama Loop – Silvermine
A half-day circular route over ridges and rough path in Silvermine, with seasonal waterfalls along the way. It is the most demanding entry here and the least dependable for water, so treat it as a good circuit that is better after rain rather than a waterfall walk you can count on.
The Panorama Loop – Silvermine is one of the most scenic hikes in Table Mountain National Park, offering breathtaking panoramic views over False Bay, Noordhoek, Hout Bay and the surrounding mountain ranges. Starting from the Silvermine Gate 1 entrance, this circular route combines wide mountain tracks, rugged fynbos-covered slopes and spectacular viewpoints before returning via the tranquil Silvermine Reservoir.
Despite the steady climb during the first section, the trail is well maintained and rewards hikers with some of the finest scenery in the Southern Peninsula. The combination of open landscapes, rich Cape Floral Kingdom vegetation and the opportunity to cool off in the reservoir after the hike makes this one of Cape Town’s most popular half-day walks.
When to go
If water is the reason you are going, go in the wet months. The falls at Cecilia and on the Panorama Loop are described as seasonal in our own records, and the honest reading of that is that late summer will disappoint you. Disa Kloof and Leopards Kloof sit in a kloof that holds water better; the Palmiet and the Eerste are rivers and run regardless.
Three of the seven sit inside gated or managed places. Silvermine charges a conservation fee at the gate and closes it; Harold Porter is a botanical garden with opening hours and issues the Leopards Kloof permit and key at the entrance; Kogelberg has limited day-visitor parking on a first come, first served basis.