AFP Roger Bosch
Cape Town authorities say there have been more than 80 attacks on Table Mountain paths this year, most recorded since August.
Police and park rangers now carry out special patrols in the park, while drones and helicopters buzz around the 1,086-metre-high plateau.
Three park rescuers were robbed after carrying out one night-time operation.
Authorities say several arrests have been carried out but still recommend that walkers tackle the three-hour trek in a group and during daylight hours.
A pensioner Mary Lloyd, told AFP how she became the latest crime statistic.
The 75-year-old was on her daily walk along the massif's footpaths when two men pounced on her, grabbing her phone and threatening to cut off her fingers when she couldn't remove her rings fast enough.
"Mostly I feel absolutely angry because it has taken away my freedom on the mountain. I don't feel safe as I walk," said Lloyd at a protest near Cape Town.
As the southern hemisphere summer season hits its end-of-year peak, the travel industry is worried.
Jean-Pierre Smith, a Cape Town councillor responsible for the city's safety and security, said up to 240,000 people in Cape Town earn a living from tourism but highlighted recent arrests.
"Whilst an attack on a tourist is not more important than an attack on a local, it comes with an additional risk to the city of this investment in our tourism," he said.
South Africa had four million tourist arrivals in the first six months of the year.
The industry makes a bigger contribution to the economy than agriculture.
But rising crime is a growing concern across the country.
Police have also stepped up patrols on the main road from the capital, Pretoria, to the Sun City resort and nearby national parks after gun-wielding raiders attacked buses of foreign visitors.
In one case, the driver of a bus carrying 32 Austrians kept going until the Sun City police station after shots were fired at the vehicle, police said.
Last week, four masked gunmen stopped a smaller bus on the road and took jewels, cash, phones and bank cards from 11 people, police added.
