Aerial tramway linking Gibraltar town with Rock’s high viewing summit.
Gibraltar’s cable car is an aerial tramway connecting Grand Parade near Main Street and the Gibraltar Botanic Gardens with a high station on the Rock of Gibraltar. Built in 1966 and refurbished in 1986, it climbs to about 412 metres in around six minutes, with Ape’s Den as an intermediate stop.
Gibraltar’s cable car is an aerial tramway in Gibraltar, a British overseas territory. The base station stands at Grand Parade in the town centre, near the southern end of Main Street and beside the Gibraltar Botanic (Alameda) Gardens. From there the line climbs the Rock of Gibraltar, passing the intermediate Ape’s Den station, before reaching the upper station known as “Top of the Rock”. Despite the name, this terminus lies on the Rock’s second-highest peak, at about 412 metres above sea level. The cable car opened in 1966, built by Swiss cable car company Von Roll Holding. The last major renovation occurred in 1986, when the original 1966 cabins were replaced with new ones. The line between the lower and upper stations is about 673 metres long and supported by three steel towers. Each of the two cabins carries up to 30 passengers plus an attendant, travelling at roughly 5 metres per second, with a journey time of about six minutes. On board, audio tour guides describe the historical background of Gibraltar’s sights. At the top station, visitors find a restaurant, café, toilet facilities and terraces offering panoramic views across the Strait of Gibraltar to Morocco, the Bay of Gibraltar towards Algeciras, and along the east coast towards Marbella.
