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24 November 2025

Table Mountain National Park Ready for the 2025 Festive Season

South African National Parks (SANParks) is fully prepared to welcome increased visitor numbers to Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) as we enter the festive season.   Visitors can expect an enjoyable visit at TMNP’s iconic sites, strong safety measures and enhanced firefighting and environmental protection capacity.

From April to October 2025, TMNP recorded 1,708,289 entries across its access points, an almost 20% increase compared to the same period in 2024. With expected increases in flight and cruise ship arrivals, this upward trend is set to continue into December and January.

Visitors can look forward to fantastic scenery and unmatched views in the richly biodiverse TMNP with highlights from visiting the African penguins at Boulders penguin colony, to 360-degree views from the Cape Point lighthouse or Signal Hill, to standing on the table at the top of Table Mountain after a ride up the cableway or a hike up Platteklip Gorge, to picnicking at Silvermine dam or Oudekraal beach. A total of 850 kilometres of hiking, horse riding and mountain biking trails await the adventurer to explore.

TMNP now has 157 rangers deployed across the park, working closely with the 40-member Sea-Air-Mountain (SEAM) special operations unit. This unit was bolstered earlier this year with 24 additional elite rangers and the recent addition of six new operational vehicles. Drone technology has also been introduced to support safety patrols and firefighting operations.

The park’s specialist teams continue to play a key role in visitor protection and environmental crime prevention, achieving significant successes in reducing poaching, theft and other illegal activities. The TMNP canine unit will receive further support through contracted, trained dogs and handlers during the festive period while the unit undergoes a review to strengthen its long-term operations.

To bolster the range of different measures in place, a Senior Manager responsible for visitor safety and resource protection will assume duties before mid-December to oversee safety coordination and guide volunteer involvement. Volunteers already play an important role in joint safety campaigns and operations to address groups conducting illegal activities in the park such as overnighting and making fires outside of designated areas.

SANParks continues to work closely with SAPS, City of Cape Town Law Enforcement, neighbourhood watches, City Improvement Districts (CIDs) and volunteer safety groups through joint deployments, awareness initiatives and the Table Mountain Safety Forum.

Statistics of incidents officially recorded by the TMNP Ops Room show positive trends. Robberies dropped from a spike of 15 cases in March 2025 to single-digit figures between June and November. Since the expansion of the SEAM Unit, 17 robbery incidents were recorded from June to November 2025, compared with 37 during the same period in 2024. Attempted robberies between June to November 2025 numbered 8, compared to 12 in the same period of 2024. The trend in incidents also reflects successes such as the key arrests of individual repeat criminals, notably arrests made in April, May, September and November 2025.

SANParks urges all visitors to prepare adequately:

  • Plan routes in advance and hike in groups
  • Share your itinerary and expected return time
  • Carry enough water and weather-appropriate clothing
  • Use tracking apps where possible
  • Ensure your phone is fully charged and carry a power bank

Emergency Contacts

  • TMNP Emergency Number: 086 110 6417
  • Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR): 021 937 0300
  • National Emergency Number: 112 (from a cellphone)

SANParks confirmed the readiness of its firefighting capacity, including ground teams, strategically positioned fire-standby units and helicopter support. Winter fuel-reduction and ecological burns were successfully completed to lower fire risk. The Klaasjagersberg seasonal firefighting unit has been activated earlier than in previous years, complementing the Kloofnek and Newlands teams to ensure rapid response to multiple fire incidents. Aerial firefighting resources have also been brought online earlier, launching in November rather than December as in past seasons.