Planning to regularly enjoy outdoor experiences in Table Mountain National Park?
Get an Activity Permit allowing you to carry out your chosen activity. Unleash your spirit of adventure and make memories that will leave you yearning for more!
An Annual Activity Permit is required by visitors who make use of the Park to undertake a specific/variety of activities over the period of a year.
A valid DFFE (Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment) Recreational Fishing Permit is required when purchasing a Level 3 line fishing permit for use in Cape of Good Hope (Cape Point).
A Day Activity Permit allows a single entry to carry out the identified activity. Suitable for visitors who need activity permit access on a once-off basis.
Persons wanting to undertake the removal of West Coast rock lobster need to purchase a Marine Species Access Permit in order to carry out this activity, or pay the day fee for such activity at the gate on arrival.
The management of TMNP has been designated to SANParks in terms of the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act. SANParks has both national and international mandates to manage the Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) as a National Park and World Heritage Site with respect to conserving this precious and threatened eco-system and globally recognised biodiversity hotspot. The task falls to management to accommodate users while protecting the natural environment so that it can be managed in a sustainable manner taking into account the enjoyment of future generations and not only current users. Park management strives to ensure that areas that lend themselves to recreational usage are used in a way that impacts the environment and other users as little as possible.
When Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) was established, there was a need to formally recognize appropriate recreational activities within the managed area of TMNP as these activities have impacts on both the environment and other users of the park and some activities are not normally allowed in a National Park (including dog-walking, horse riding, rock climbing and using the Park for commercial gain). In response to this challenge, TMNP therefore developed through a series of various public processes, Environmental Management Programs (EMPs) for dog walking; hang and paragliding; sport/rock climbing; horse riding; and mountain biking as the management framework to manage these diverse recreational activities in the Park. These EMPs include:
These EMP’s require users to obtain permits, respect the rules and regulations of the Park, undertake their activity with care and consideration for other users and protect and conserve the natural and heritage resources of the Park.
It needs to be noted that the Activity Permits are not access cards but permits to undertake certain high-impact recreational activities in a National Park.
The Protected Areas Act and Regulations also make provision for the management authority to introduce such permits. In preparing the recreational Environmental Management Programs (EMPs), TMNP has over the years consulted with various recreational stakeholders. All recreational EMPs are also prepared in terms of the Park’s Conservation Development Framework (CDF) which was developed in consultation with all stakeholders including the City of Cape Town. These EMP’s introduce a code of conduct for each recreational activity to promote best practices and appropriate behaviour by Park users so as to limit impacts and conflicts between users. Rather than abuse their privilege of undertaking activities in the Park we would encourage users to conduct themselves responsibly in the Park by following the requirements of the relevant EMP. In this way, we will all make the activities undertaken a safe and appropriate low-impact means of enjoying and appreciating the Park.
The baseline cost is pegged against the individual Wild Card rate and covers the use of the Park for that activity, as well as, the impacts associated with the activity.
In order for TMNP to remain sustainable, annual rate increases are necessary to accommodate escalating operational activities and conservation programmes. The annual rate increase takes place on 1 November each year. TMNP is acutely aware of the competing needs of all users and is constantly engaging in a variety of projects to ensure that the park remains an attractive destination to all.
TMNP is part of SANParks, a national organisation which manages 21 National Parks around the country and whose primary mandate is conservation. Income that the Park generates is used to fund the conservation of the mountain chain from Table Mountain to Cape Point, including invasive alien plant clearing, fire management, veld rehabilitation and soil erosion programmes. The contributions made by the Activity Permits toward sustaining our National Park form part of this system. TMNP is 24,000 hectares and the funds currently utilised for veld infrastructure, conservation and management, which includes cycle tracks, is far in excess of the money raised by the Activity Permit system.
Given the extent and remoteness of the Park, it is a challenge to have a constant presence in all areas. Table Mountain National Park strives to provide a safe platform for you to carry out your recreational activity, but it must be stressed that recreational users remain vigilant given that entry, use and access to the Park remain at their own risk.
SANParks requests that all visitors save the emergency number on their phones for TMNP to be contacted: 086 110 6417 or 107/021 480 7700. The Park recommends that you carry out your activity in a group and that you do not carry out an activity alone in any location within the Park.
Review our Frequently Asked Questions, or submit a support ticket via our Customer Care form. Your queries are handled by highly professional Customer Care individuals and departments.