SIGNAL HILL

Description

Essentials about Signal Hill in brief

Anyone who has arrived in Cape Town and wants to get an overview of this city, which is so beautifully situated, should do so from a lofty height – and Signal Hill is ideal for this. The 350 meter high and about five kilometer long hill ridge is located in the middle of the city center and can be reached very comfortably by car. A road leads up to the summit of Signal Hill. From there, you can enjoy a magnificent view of Table Bay with the legendary prison island of Robben Island to the north, downtown Cape Town to the east, the Atlantic Ocean and the beach suburbs of Sea Point, Clifton and Camps Bay to the west, Lion’s Head and, of course, Table Mountain to the south.

A sundowner on Signal Hill

Later in the afternoon, especially on weekends, the road up Signal Hill turns into a veritable pilgrimage path of hundreds of people who want to enjoy a so-called sundowner on the hill. This is a South African folk sport, so to speak, where you watch the beautiful sunset over the sea with a glass of wine or beer in your hand.

The history of Signal Hill

By the way, Signal Hill owes its name to a time signal for ships. In 1836, a time ball was installed on a wooden scaffold at the Cape Town Observatory, after the signal had previously been fired from the roof of the building with a pistol shot. However, the time ball was no longer visible to all ships as dock development in the harbor increased. For this reason, a second time ball was erected on Signal Hill. This gave its signal at noon, after which the ship’s chronometers could be reliably checked. To improve the visibility of the signal, a third time ball tower was erected at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront in 1894, which now relayed the time signal to the ships from here. This practice was maintained until 1934.

The High Noon Gun

Today, a different tradition is maintained on Signal Hill. At 12 noon, a bang is heard in the center of Cape Town, which most tourists usually can’t quite place at first. The shot is fired from the so-called High Noon Gun stationed at the foot of Signal Hill. The cannon shot is reminiscent of the past, when Signal Hill was still used as an observation point on Table Bay and arriving sailing ships were announced to the Capetonians by a cannon shot.

Signal Hill and Lion’s Head

Now and then Signal Hill is also called the “body of the lion”. This is because the hill, together with the adjacent Lion’s Head in the south, has the silhouette of a lying lion. By the way, if you want to enjoy an even better view of Cape Town and its surroundings than from Signal Hill, you should climb Lion’s Head. The climb is much more difficult (there is no road like on Signal Hill), but from an altitude of 670 meters you have a better view of this beautiful spot on earth.