Chapman’s Peak Drive

Fifteen kilometers south of Cape Town is Chapman’s Peak, a mountain whose western side falls straight down in some places and disappears into the Atlantic Ocean. Chapman’s Peak owes its name to John Chapman, who was sent from the Concent ship here in 1607 with a rowing boat to see if there was any supplies for the crew.
It is here that between 1915 and 1922 work was done on a beautiful piece of road building art and that is how the spectacular coastal road Chapman’s Peak drive was created.

Driving along the western side of the Cape Peninsula, the road winds from the picturesque fishing village of Hout Bay to the lower Noordhoek. A route that is one of the most spectacular coastal roads in the world. The Chapman’s Peak drive is included in the two most important races held in Cape Town. Participants of the Cape Argus bike race (March) and the Two Oceans marathon (Easter) take up the challenge every year with the mountain and its circling wind, because it is possible to blow here!

The route is nine kilometers long and you will come across 114 turns on your road. Only reserved for the fit bike enthusiast and runner, a paradise for hikers and for the motorist who prefers the tough cornering. On the way, of course, enjoying the majestic view of Cape Town, the mountains and the depth with its rocks and waves. Along the way there are plenty of places to stop, because you probably want to record this on the sensitive plate.
If you are going to picnic here, watch out for the baboons who are always looking for food. And during the whale season it might just be that you see a whale swimming off the shore.

From Chapman’s Peak you can easily visit the Silver mine nature reserve and Table Mountain National Park and be amazed by the beautiful proteas and numerous other fynbos and of course the special native trees that grow here

The Chapman’s Peak drive has been regularly closed in the past by falling rock, after which it sometimes took months to work on the road. The route is a tollroad and you have to pay to be able to drive this route, but this is definitely worth it. For safety’s sake, it has been decided that buses may only drive the route from Hout Bay to Noordhoek.

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