At 1399m, Simonsberg may not be one of South Africa’s higher mountains – but it is one of only 24 in the country with 1000m topographic prominence. It is also a definite contender for SA’s most beautiful mountain. It is also one of very few mountains that I consider to be genuinely freestanding.

I had attempted this hike in September 2021, but were instructed to leave the mountain due to mist – which was unnecessary, but seeing as we’d have no view, there wasn’t much point in fighting about it. So to arrive in clear conditions was a great start.

The hike starts with a road section. It doesn’t waste time before starting to pick up some altitude. The road is soon left and the hiking through thick fynbos commences!

The lower section of the trail is relatively gentle, with a gradual increase in gradient.

Soon the turn-around spot from the last attempt was passed. While it was sad to miss the views in 2021, it was great to see the Cape Winelands from this angle.

Soon the scrambling section was reached. This section does have a few easy moves where a fall could end badly. This easy but consequential scrambling seems to be common in the Cape Mountains.

The route is well marked with cairns on the spots where one can’t see the trail.Navigation wasn’t tricky at all.

Once the cliffy section is passed, the trail suddenly gets much gentler as it curves to the left to avoid the upper cliffs. The views are exceptional!

This traverse section is a nice break from the very steep ground halfway up. It is still steep, but not at the same level.

The trail then rounds a corner as the final assault on the summit commences. This top section is steep, but generally not exposed.

Cloud came in as the summit was neared, and thus I sped up to try and get a good summit shot before the mist rolled in.

I reached the summit just in time to get a great view to the east, the views on the way up are mostly to the west. Rising steeply one kilometre above the surrounding region, the views are amazing in every direction!

Peak 14 out of 24 in project 1000!

With mist coming in on the descent, conditions started to get a bit cold! Luckily this wasn’t my first mountain and I was over-prepared as usual.

Hi-Tec had sent me a pair of their new Geo-Trail Pro shoes to try out. I got a few photos of them for the review. A sturdy shoe with good grip – well suited to a hike like this!

The descent went off without issue.

My thoughts on the hike: it should not be underestimated, it is genuinely very steep with a lot of potential for a serious fall. Not for beginners or people who don’t enjoy a bit of exposure. The views are exceptional, though, and I do highly recommend this one. I will likely go back and do it again sometime reasonably soon – definitely a highlight on project 1000 so far!

Note: this hike wasn’t done solo. Details of who I did it with have been intentionally omitted for reasons I will not get into here.