Hike to the Diagonal Cave – Route Guide

There are so many hidden caves in Cape Town that very few people know about, like the Diagonal Cave found about a kilometer off the Pipe Track.

This is probably the easiest route guide I’ve not published to date, so if you’re looking for something a little more challenging, here are links to some of the other routes I’ve written about in my “Hiking Guides” series.

• How to find Wally’s Cave on Lions Head (Choose from 2 Routes)
• Hike to the top of Little Lions Head
• How to get to the Harvest Capella Shipwreck on Oude Schip Island (Choose from 2 Routes)

How to Hike to Diagonal Cave

To get the hike started off, you need to make your way to the Pipe Track, which is essentially an extension of the Contour Path, which can be reached from either the Tafelberg Road parking lot or the Theresa Avenue in Camps Bay.

I’d say the route from the Tafelberg Parking Lot is the easiest as you’ll walk right onto the pipe track and eventually arrive at the entrance to the Diagonal Route, which is a really intense hike to the top of Table Mountain.

The Diagonal Cave is far from the top, so you won’t need to worry about climbing some of the really dangerous areas of the full route to the top.

If you are walking on the Pipe Track from the Tafelberg entrance, walk about 2,5km – 3km along the Pipe Track until you reach the sign on your left showing the start of the Diagonal Route.

If you are starting at Theresa Avenue, walk up the long winding hill until you reach where the Pipe Track and this Jeep Track meet. Don’t be fooled by the 2 left turns onto more Jeep Track because those will take you in the wrong direction. The left turn onto the single track can be hidden, so keep an eye out. Walk for about 1,5km and you will reach the entrance to the Diagonal Hike, passing the Kasteelspoort Entrance on the way.

Once you are at the start of the Diagonal Route, the route is really straight forward from here.

Head up the path all the way until you reach an area where you’ll need to do a little climbing. The rocks are not too high, but they can be tricky if wet or if they have loose sand on them making it super slippery.

From the big climb, you’re almost there, so be sure not to head with the path around the mountain, because this will take you to an area I’d say is only safe for experienced hikers.

Look out for a small path that will lead up to a big rock on the left, which has the Diagonal Cave right behind it.

The hike is super chilled and should take you no more than 2 and a half hours to complete with a picnic and photo stops along the way.

Make sure you pack:

• At least 2 Liters of Water
• Some lunch for the top
• Pepper Spray (There haven’t been a lot of muggings, but it’s better to be safe)
• A Hammock to chill out in using a tree and rocks to clip into (BE CAUTIOUS NOT TO DAMAGE THE MOUNTAIN)

Have fun and if you use this guide to hike to the Diagonal Cave, please tag me on Instagram in any of the photos you take!