The Magnificent Table Mountain Range stretches as far as the eye can see, with the view of the backside of Lions Head and the towering Twelve Apostles Mountain Peaks which forms the back of the Table Mountain National Park stretching from Signal Hill in the City all the way to the dramatically beautiful Cape Point.

Actually there are more than Twelve Peaks this all depends on how you count the peaks. It turns out that there are not 12 but 18 peaks. The theory is that if you count the buttresses only (that’s the part that protrudes, which might be made up of a few peaks), there are 12. Most people seem to think that the peaks are named after the Apostles in the Bible but in fact the names are surprisingly plain descriptive names of the area!

Each peak, however, has its own name: from north to south, they are Kloof, Fountain, Porcupine, Jubilee, Barrier, Valken, Kasteel, Postern, Wood, spring, Slangolie, Corridor, Separation, Victoria, Grove, Llandudno Peak, Llandudno Corridor, and Hout Bay Corner. If you want to truly wow the locals with your detailed knowledge of the local mountains (and Capetonians love their mountains), try to learn a few of them!

But don’t let that distract you from the beauty of the Mountain Range!