What is the best Zipline in Cape Town? Look no further than the Cape Canopy Tour Zipline in Elgin!
Situated in the picturesque Elgin Valley near Grabouw lies one of the world’s hottest new tourism experiences – well according to Lonely Planet anyway. And having recently spent a Sunday afternoon flying through the Hottentots Holland mountains, we have to agree that the Cape Canopy Tour is pretty cool.
Conveniently located about an hours drive from Cape Town, or as we discovered half an hour from Franschhoek over the Pass, sits Cape Nature’s Hottentots Holland Nature Reserve. The scenery here is simply fantastic and the aerial perspective of the Canopy Tour allows you to really appreciate this little-known part of the Cape from a rare vantage point.
The tour has only been open since August 2014 after taking approximately 12 months to complete the build. You really have to admire such a highly engineered work of art; the team did not use any foundations in the construction of the platforms. If need be, they could remove the entire system of slides and platforms and there would be little sign it had ever been there.
Eleven ziplines and one slightly hair-raising suspension bridge connect the thirteen wooden platforms. Aside from remembering to apply your handbrake (literally) before you get to the platform there is nothing to do apart from admiring the dramatic gorges, glistening waterfalls and take in nature at its best.
Good to Know:
Opening hours are Monday to Sunday. The first tour leaves at 8am and the last tour leaves at 2pm. Tours are roughly 4-5 hours in length depending on how competent your group is.
You will be transferred to the start of the tour by 4×4 which takes approximately 30 minutes each way over some rocky terrain.
All ages are welcome, even as young as five years – as long as they fit comfortably into a harness. You just need to be able to manage the 1km climb out of the valley and back to the 4×4 at the end of the tour.
The Cape Canopy Tour costs R595 per person, which includes a bottle of water and a tasty lunch upon your return as well as the park conservation fee of R40. (Wild Card holders get R40 discount – R555)
Wear comfortable clothing and sturdy shoes that you can walk in. Flip-flops are not ideal as they will likely fall off when you are sliding! Also it can be chilly in the mountains, so a warm top is always a good idea.
Nat and John 
The longest zipline at 320m!