Porcupine Ravine

About Porcupine Ravine

Start: the Pipe Track, Theresa Avenue, Camps Bay
Finish: Theresa Avenue
Duration: half a day, although take a picnic and make a day of it
Fitness: fit
Our tip: don't venture up the mountain face without proper food, water and clothes

Porcupine Ravine is a shallow ravine up the Twelve Apostles in Cape Town alongside the Porcupine Buttress.

It is the second ravine on the Camp's Bay side of Table Mountain. As you stare up at the Twelve Apostles from the Pipe Track, Porcupine Ravine is the light brown track you can just make out left of centre, heading vertically, in a series of zig zags (some of them less zig than zag) straight up the cleft of the mountain.

Hiking up Porcupine Ravine is as intimidating as it looks. It is an uphill slog, but worth every bit of it for the views from the top.

Whilst the initial bit of the Pipe Track is straight forward, going up the ravine is hard work. You will need both hands free to haul yourself over rocks. It is also steep and at times, if you suffer from vertigo, there may be moments that you wish you had not ventured forth.

However, the beauty of the surrounding fynbos, bulbs and grasses – particularly if ericas and proteas are in flower – is part of the reason for the popularity of this hike. The ascent is not gradual, but the steepness gets you really high really fast.

Many of the hikes on this side of the mountain use Porcupine Ravine. Some people take the Diagonal Route, via Porcupine Ravine, and then Kasteels Poort back down. Others simply go up and then down Porcupine Ravine.

From the summit of the Porcupine Buttress, the views over the Atlantic Seaboard and into Blinkwater Ravine are unbeatable.