Natural feature
Platteklip Gorge
Steep sandstone ravine and the oldest route up Table Mountain, fed by a seasonal stream.
0:00≈ 2 min
Location
0:00≈ 2 min
About this audio guide
This guide to Platteklip Gorge on Table Mountain follows the Portuguese captain Antonio de Saldanha, who anchored below the mountain in 1503 after a storm scattered his ships, then climbed the one obvious crack in the rock face just to work out where he was. You'll hear how the flat sandstone route he found became known as Platteklip Gorge, and why Saldanha is remembered as the first European recorded atop the mountain. Along the way, it traces the seasonal stream that still runs through the chute today.
This audio guide was created using AI.