Enjoy a quick, easy 12-minute walk to a fantastic climbing crag made of hard quartzite sandstone. This child-friendly spot offers afternoon shade, making it perfect for families. It is where many beginners practice, featuring mostly face climbing on medium-grade routes with plenty of space to avoid crowds.
Enjoy stunning views of leafy suburbs and the Indian Ocean. The area is named Silvermine because prospectors dug three tunnels here looking for silver. They found none, but the name stuck!
• 1675–1687: Prospectors dug three fruitless silver shafts, sealing the valley's name. The DEIC used the heights for grazing and a lookout.
• 1805–1951: Strategic defenses (1805) and land grants (1808) followed, bringing historic structures like Die Kruithuis and Die Kliphuis (1904).
• 1898–1968: The reservoir was built (1898), and Ou Kaapse Weg split the valley (1968), expropriating farms to protect the mountains.
• 1973–1998: The Navy installed an underground HQ nearby (1973). In 1998, Silvermine joined Table Mountain National Park to protect its fynbos and history. Commercial pine plantations were subsequently removed to allow the fynbos to return—though these very pines once served as top-rope anchors for climbers practicing harder moves, cementing the climbing community's long-standing affection for the area.
