The Kirstenbosch Canopy Walkway at the Botanical Gardens, also known as the Boomslang since it resembles a snake, is the newest and most exciting attraction in Cape Town. We’ve been monitoring the progress and waiting for it to be completed so we wasted no time going there as soon as it opened.
The Kirstenbosch Canopy Walkway, set among over 400 trees in the Arboretum, is 130m long and starts at ground level. It uses the natural slope to rise to 11.5m at its highest point. It is wheelchair friendly, and there is no extra fee to walk on it. It is a curved steel bridge designed to flex and move back and forth, so it will sway slightly as you walk on it. But it is completely safe and engineered to take far heavier loads and windier conditions.
The walkway with its ingenious design was built with careful attention to the sensitive surroundings – two trees have even been incorporated in the boards.
The walkway gives you great views of the arboretum, the gardens in general and the Cape suburbs in the distance, all the way to the mountains that circle the Cape. This is a wonderful addition to a garden that is already considered the most beautiful in Africa.
The Kirstenbosch Canopy Walkway is situated in the Arboretum, the area of the garden between the Concert Lawn, Mathews Rockery, The Cycad Amphitheater and Protea Garden, and is well sign-posted.

The mountain at the back, peering over the vegetation, is known as Castle Rock but more commonly ‘Teddy Bear’ Mountain.
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