South Africa
Top Sights
1. Kruger National Park
Kruger National Park is one of the world's most famous safari parks and one of the oldest game reserves in South Africa. The park offers visitors the chance to see the 'Big Five': lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant, and rhino, as well as an astounding diversity of other wildlife. Also home to diverse bird species such as vultures, eagles and storks. Mountains, bush plains and tropical forests are all part of the landscape.
2. Cape Town
Cape Town is a port city on South Africa's southwest coast, on a peninsula beneath the imposing Table Mountain. Slowly rotating cable cars climb to the mountain's flat top, from which there are sweeping views of the city, the busy harbor and boats heading for Robben Island, the notorious prison that once held Nelson Mandela, which is now a living museum.
3. Kgalagadi
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is a vast wildlife preserve in the Kalahari Desert region of Botswana and South Africa, bordering Namibia to the west. It’s characterized by red dunes and dry rivers. Wildlife includes migrating herds of wildebeest and springbok, plus predators like raptors and black-maned Kalahari lions. Various lodges and wildnerness camps offer game-viewing drives and guided walks with park rangers.
4. Stellenbosch
Stellenbosch is a university town in South Africa's Western Cape province. It's surrounded by the vineyards of the Cape Winelands and the mountainous nature reserves of Jonkershoek and Simonsberg. The town's oak-shaded streets are lined with cafes, boutiques and art galleries. Cape Dutch architecture gives a sense of South Africa's Dutch colonial history, as do the Village Museum's period houses and gardens.
5. Drakensberg
The spectacular Drakensberg, meaning 'Dragon Mountains', is home to South Africa's highest peaks, waterfalls and ancient 'san' rock art. Perfect for hiking, climbing and whitewater-rafting.
6. Simangaliso Wetland Park
iSimangaliso Wetland Park is a huge protected area along the coast of South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal Province. The park's centrepiece is the vast Lake St. Lucia, home to large numbers of hippos, crocodiles, pelicans and flamingos. Elephants, giraffes and leopards inhabit the grasslands and forests of the nearby Western Shores and Charters Creek areas. To the north, Sodwana Bay is known for its colourful coral reefs.
7. Blyde River Canyon
The Blyde River Canyon is a significant natural feature of South Africa, located in Mpumalanga, and forming the northern part of the Drakensberg escarpment. The best way to explore this spectacular park is via the scenic driving routes or by hiking the extensive trails.
8. Robben Island
Robben Island is an island in Table Bay, and was home to Nelson Mandela for 18 years. Home to the African Big 5, Cheetah, Wild Dogs and many other wildlife species.
9. Johannesburg
Johannesburg, South Africa's largest city began as a 19th-century gold-mining settlement. Its sprawling Soweto township was once home to Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu. Mandela’s former residence is now the Mandela House museum. Other Soweto museums that recount the struggle to end segregation include the somber Apartheid Museum and Constitution Hill, a former prison complex.
10. Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park
The oldest proclaimed nature reserve in Africa offering a large variety of wildlife and activities including night drives, self-guided walks and donkey trails
11. Soweto
South Africa's largest and most famous township was a hotbed of anti-apartheid activity. Visit Freedom Struggle sites and eat at a shebeen or township restaurant.
12. Sani Pass
The most precipitous pass in Southern Africa, connecting Lesotho to KwaZulu-Natal. Originally a mule track, it is still a tortuous, hair-raising road today. At 2873m you enter the land of the hardy “people of the blanket”, a place that time has forgotten.
13. Cape Point
A promontory at the southeast corner of the Cape Peninsula, falling within the Good Hope Section of Table Mountain National Park, the Cape Point Nature Reserve is 7750 hectares of wild coves, shimmering tidal pools, fynbos-covered valleys and diverse flora and fauna.
14. Bo-Kaap
The hillside Bo-Kaap is known for its narrow cobbled streets lined with colorful houses. Local Cape Malay culture is represented at sites like the 1790s-built Auwal Mosque and the Bo-Kaap Museum, with exhibits about the achievements of Muslim immigrants.
15. De Hoop Nature Reserve
Best area for land based whale watching, the De Hoop nature reserve offers you a full outdoor experience with the sea, sand dunes, fynbos and mountains surrounding you. You will also spot some roaming wildlife like the Cape mountain zebra and eland to name a few.
16. Addo Elephant National Park
Addo Elephant National Park is a diverse wildlife conservation park situated close to Port Elizabeth in South Africa and is one of the country's 20 national parks. It currently ranks third in size after Kruger National Park and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.
17. Durban
Durban, a coastal city in eastern South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province, is known for its African, Indian and colonial influences. Refurbished for soccer’s 2010 World Cup, the seafront promenade runs from uShaka Marine World, a huge theme park with an aquarium, to the futuristic Moses Mabhida Stadium. The Durban Botanical Gardens showcases African plant species
18. Mbabane
Mbabane is the capital city of Swaziland, though parliament and the royal compound, Ludzidzini, are in nearby Lobamba. Surrounded by the Mdimba Mountains, it’s a gateway to Sibebe Rock, a huge granite mound with trails, caves and waterfalls. South, Ezulwini Valley has hot springs and craft markets. In Mantenga Nature Reserve, Mantenga Cultural Village re-creates 19th-century life with traditional huts and dances.
19. Mkuze
Mkuze Game Reserve has an exceptional variety of natural habitats: from the eastern slopes of the Lebombo Mountains along its eastern boundary, to broad stretches of acacia savannah, swamps and a variety of woodlands and riverine forest. A rare type of sand forest also occurs in the reserve. It is renowned among ornithologists, with more than 420 different bird species on record.
20. Knysna
Knysna is situated in the heart of the Garden Route and is the perfect town to stay while exploring the surrounding areas.
21. Oudtshoorn
Oudtshoorn is known for its ostrich farms and rests along the Route 62 wine route. The central C.P. Nel Museum traces the ostrich-feather boom era and houses a working synagogue. The nearby Cango Wildlife Ranch is a conservation park offering animal petting. To the north, the Cango Caves are a 20-million-year-old network of limestone chambers.
22. Boulders Beach
This is a popular tourist stop because of a colony of African penguins which settled there in 1982. Boulders Beach forms part of the Table Mountain National Park. The ancient granite boulders protect it from the wind and large waves, making it an ideal swimming spot for kids.