Elephants Eye hike in Silvermine
A short and very scenic hike to do in Silvermine Nature Reserve, close to Cape Town
From Cape Town central to Silvermine is 29km. You pass Groote Schuur hospital, Mostards Mill, Rhodes Memorial, UCT and the suburbs Newlands, Bishopscourt and Constantia . On reaching the top of Old Kaapse Weg, you turn right to the clearly sign posted entry of Silvermine. You then pay an entry fee. Currently it is R40.00 pp.
Once parked you can proceed to the signboard that has a detailed map and facts amongst other things, about the birds you can look out for. These include the Peregrine Falcon, white chested ravens and Rock Kestrel.
Silvermine forms part of the Table Mountain National Park. The signage is good throughout the whole hike and also where the best view points are.
Silvermine was made part of Table Mountain National Park on 1 May 1998, thereby ensuring that its unique and diverse natural offering will be protected. Silvermine offers spectacular scenery, an abundance of fynbos and is a popular spot for all sorts of activities including hiking, caving, rock-climbing and mountain-biking.
Off to Elephant’s Eye
The name is derived from the fact that this mountain looks like the shape of an elephant’s head and the cave is perfectly located where the eye would be. This hike brings you past indigenous fynbos, King Proteas, grasses and flowers.
Once down again there are great places to enjoy a picnic and have a refreshing swim in the reservoir