The 11th of December is International Mountain Day and you can celebrate with our very own beautiful Table Mountain.

International Mountain Day  #MountainsMatter

The United Nations General Assembly designated 11 December “International Mountain Day”. As of 2003, it has been observed every year to create awareness about the importance of mountains to life, to highlight the opportunities and constraints in mountain development and to build alliances that will bring positive change and sustainability.

Table Mountain Cableway Responsible Tourism initiatives

Table Mountain Aerial Cableway are the custodians of the New7Wonder of Nature: Table Mountain. A priority is to protect this wonder of Nature; the Cableway focuses on the three pillars of responsible tourism – environmental, social and economic responsibility – to maximise benefits and minimise costs.

In an effort to remain carbon neutral, Table Mountain Cableway continues to develop and implement several responsible tourism initiatives.

One of the initiatives which have helped them achieve a zero carbon footprint, is the Kuyasa Housing Project – where they have offset their 2015 emissions by investing in the project.

The Kuyasa Housing Project is a low-carbon initiative in Khayelitsha that installs solar water heaters, ceilings and energy efficient lightbulbs in 2 100 homes. This results in monetary savings, improved indoor air quality and reduced greenhouse gases. The project has also created a number of jobs.

Over the past year they have reduced their energy consumption by 11% per visitor (enough to power eight households for a year), have diverted 52% their waste from landfill (enough to fill 12 cable cars) and have reduced their water consumption by 5% per visitor (enough to fill 32 cable cars)!

Lastly, they have also increased the number of goods they source from local suppliers. This helps reduce their carbon footprint significantly and helps to promote the local goods industry – a win-win for all!

These initiatives, together with their resource management practises, is why they were recognised at the 2015 African Responsible Tourism Awards – where they received Diamond Heritage Status on the Heritage Environmental Rating Programme.

Table Mountain a New7Wonder of Nature

Table Mountain is one of the oldest mountains on the planet and is at least 6 times older than the Himalayas.

In 2004 Table Mountain was named part of the Cape Floristic Region World Heritage Site. It is also part of the Cape Floral Kingdom, the smallest and richest of the six floral kingdoms on earth, boasting an amazing 8200 rare and endangered plant species, some of which occur nowhere else on the planet.

Table Mountain is the only terrestrial feature on our planet to have a constellation of stars named after it. Louis de Lacaille, an astronomer,named the southern constellation of stars Mensa (he originally called it Mons Mensae – Latin for “the table mountain”) after the increasingly world-famous landmark in the Cape of Good Hope, Table Mountain.

The New7Wonders of Nature are:
• Amazon, South America
• Halong Bay, Vietnam
• Iguazu Falls, Argentina/Brazil
• JeJu Island, South Korea
• Komodo, Indonesia
• Puerto Princesa Underground River, Philippines
• Table Mountain, South Africa

Share your photos of Table Mountain with us:

Let us know on our Cape Town Big 6 Facebook or Twitter page. Better yet, snap an Instagram shot of your favourite outdoor moment and tag @CapeTownBig6 #CTBig7

One Destination, 6 Unbelievable Experiences

There is no one way to explore all of the Cape Town Big 6, and much of what makes each of them so special is the variety of things to see and do at each. So if possible, take your time to explore each of the city’s most visited tourist attractions in as much depth as possible – as any local will tell you, you can spend a lifetime at each of the Big 6 and still not tire of them. Find the 3 and 4 day itineraries and tips here.

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