Hike: Table Mountain- Cecilia Forest Trail

Posted on August 10, 2018

Hiking Cecilia Forest Trail in Cape Town, South Africa

Traveling to Cecilia Forest Hiking Trail

Cecilia Trail has a great parking lot which is quite different than a lot of trails in Cape Town! The lot and trailhead is located off of the M63 in between Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens and the Constantia Nek trailhead. It does appear out of nowhere as the road winds and there is almost a canopy surrounding the road. If you are new to Cape Town, note that this trail is on Table Mountain so you are in the right place!

Highlights of Cecilia Forest Hiking Trail

Cecilia Forest Hike is mild in comparison to a lot of Cape Town hikes (Skeleton Gorge, Devil’s Peak, Lion’s Head). This trail just skirts the mountain and has slow inclines. There are no climbing or bouldering sections and any uphill happens gradually. It does eventually meet up with the famous contour path via Constantia Nek into Newlands Forest.

There is beautiful nature around you no matter where you are on the trail. As seen in our photographs below, there are massive trees that have been there for centuries in addition to water features. Parts of this area (including all of Newlands Forest) are the wettest in Cape Town and can feel almost tropical on hot days. This trail has many river and streams flowing and if you decide to hike up the stepped section, you will be rewarded with a waterfall!

You can make this hike as long or as short as you would like. This hike can be a leisurely Sunday morning nature walk, like we did, or you can connect with the contour path and continue to much harder sections of the mountain! I like the versatility because sometimes it is hard to commit to a strenuous hike when weather in Cape Town can be unpredictable.

Enjoy out photos from this beautiful hike!