South Africa is home to a rich history that spans thousands of years. Mountains, landscapes, and cultural sites tell the country’s story in ways that are rarely told. UNESCO has inscribed twelve South African sites on the World Heritage Sites list.
Here are five must-visit UNESCO World Heritage sites in South Africa.
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1. Maloti-Drakensberg Park
This site is a wonderful cross between adventure and history. The mountains are a transnational property composed of the uKhahlamba Drakensberg National Park in South Africa and the Sehlathebe National Park in Lesotho.
Along with breathtaking scenery, it is known for its dramatic mountains, valleys, waterfalls, and sandstone formations.
The site is also known for its numerous caves and rock shelters containing an estimated 690 rock art sites. The number of individual images in those sites exceeds roughly 35,000. These rock art sites belong to the San people, providing insight into how they viewed the world.
2. Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape
Mapungubwe is formerly known as the first indigenous kingdom in Southern Africa, located along the northern border of South Africa, bordering Zimbabwe and Botswana. You’ll find an open savannah landscape that represents a once vibrant, civilised monarchy before it was abandoned in the 14th century.
What survives today are the almost untouched remains of the palace sites and the entire settlement area dependent upon them. This site represents an unrivalled picture of the development of social and political structures over some 400 years in Southern Africa before colonialism.
3. Fossil Hominid Sites of South Africa
What better way to celebrate your heritage than to go to a place connected to some of the earliest chapters of human history?
The Taung Skull Fossil Site and the Makapan Valley are part of this site. The area contains essential elements that define the origin and evolution of humanity, including the archaeological and fossil sites associated with the Cradle of Humankind.
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4. ǂKhomani Cultural Landscape
The ǂKhomani Cultural Landscape is located on the border with Botswana and Namibia in the northern part of the country, coinciding with the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park (KGNP). According to UNESCO, the large expanse of sand contains evidence of human occupation from the Stone Age to the present.
The landscape is associated with the culture of the formerly nomadic ǂKhomani San people and their ways of life.
5. Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains
This World Heritage Site contains some of the oldest and best-preserved geological formations on Earth, with rocks dating back approximately 3.6 to 3.25 billion years.
The mountains form a diverse repository of information on surface conditions, meteorite impacts, volcanism, continent-building processes and the environment of early life.
Take in the dramatic scenery and appreciate the immense age of the landscape beneath your feet.
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