Cape Point Funicular

 

 

Why walk when you could take the Flying Dutchman! Cape Town’s funicular was named after the legendary 17th century ghost ship that was destroyed in the dark and stormy seas of Cape Point on its way back to Holland from Jakarta. A Flying Dutchman funicular experience is far from ill-fated as you arrive at the summit of Cape Point to uninterrupted panoramic views across the Atlantic and over the bay at the historic lighthouse.

Highlights:

• Fastest way up to Cape Point

• Panoramic views from the top

• Old lighthouse

• See some of South Africa’s most impressive landscapes

• Coastline views

• Robben Island

• World Heritage Site

Did you know:

• The legend of the Flying Dutchman is that its crew and captain, a Dutchman named Hendrik van der Decken, were caught in a bad storm which shredded the ship’s sails and flooded the deck – while the crew implored the captain to turn back, he refused and lashed himself to the wheel and the ship was never found again

• There have been a number of sightings of the ghostly galleon over the last three-and-a-half centuries by mariners claiming to have seen a ship that glows red in the night with a mad bald captain at its helm

• Others say the ship lets down ghostly row boats with ghostly sailors on board clutching letters to send back home – where they haven’t been for over 300 years

• The ‘Point’ has been notorious among sailors since the day Bartolomeu Dias named it the ‘Cape of Storms’ – come night it would brew violent storms and its dangerous rocks around the coastline became littered by shipwrecks over the centuries

• The length of the Flying Dutchman Cape of Good Hope Funicular track is 585 metres

• The top of the funicular is at 127 metres above sea-level

• The lighthouse stands at 238 metres above sea-level on the highest section of the peak and is now used as the centralised monitoring point for all the lighthouses on the coast of South Africa

The Experience:

A ride on the funicular, from the start to finish, is just 3 minutes - so it’s definitely the quickest way up to Cape Point, and certainly the easiest! Visiting this historic lighthouse, which was built in 1859, offers spectacular views of the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve which lies within the Table Mountain National Park, and together with the Cape Floral Region, make South Africa's most famous World Heritage Site.

From this incredible vantage point you can see the majestic Table Mountain range, which stretches from Signal Hill to Cape Point and the coastlines of the Cape Peninsula. Admire one of South Africa’s most outstanding examples of natural beauty, flora and fauna, and look down onto the beautiful valleys, bays and beaches, and out into the wide Atlantic.

IMPORTANT: This experience is normally R85 but is included in your SmartPASS, see the prices for all Passes HERE. Tickets will still be required for access to Cape Point Nature Reserve.

see the: full list of attractions included »

Attractions Nearby

• Cape Point Ostrich Farm View attraction »
• Stand-up Paddle Boarding Penguin Experience View attraction »