Guiding SA

A Tourist's Guide to Understanding South Africa
This WebsiteThe Tourist

Taking on South Africa, One City at a Time

South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres (1,739 mi) of coastline of Southern Africa stretching along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini (Swaziland); and it surrounds the enclaved country of Lesotho.

Provinces

Cities

Towns

Million People

Provinces of South Africa

North West

North West North West lies in the north of South Africa on the Botswana border, fringed by the...

Mpumalanga

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga – "the place where the sun rises" – is a province with spectacular scenic...

Limpopo

Limpopo Limpopo is South Africa's northernmost province, lying within the great curve of the...

KwaZulu-Natal

KwaZulu-Natal The garden province of South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal is a subtropical region of lush...

Gauteng

Gauteng Johannesburg is the capital of Gauteng province. Also known as Joburg or Jozi,...

The Free State

The Free State The province is the granary of South Africa, with agriculture central to its...

The Western Cape

The Western Cape The Western Cape lies on southern tip of Africa. The most-southern point is not,...

The Eastern Cape

The Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape's main feature is its spectacular coastline, lapped by the...

The Northern Cape

The Northern Cape The province lies to the south of its most important asset, the mighty Orange...
iSimangaliso Wetland Park

iSimangaliso Wetland Park

Year inscribed: 1999 Location: KwaZulu-Natal, 27º 50' 20" S 32º 33' E Type: Natural heritage On 1 November 2007, South Africa's first World Heritage Site, the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, was given a new name that better reflects its unique African identity: the...

Robben Island

Robben Island

Year inscribed: 1999 Location: Western Cape, 33º 48' S 18º 22' E Type: Cultural heritage Robben Island is most famous as the place where Nelson Mandela, the first democratically elected president of South Africa, was imprisoned for 18 of his 27 years in jail. The...

Cradle of Humankind

Cradle of Humankind

Year inscribed: 1999, 2005 Location: Gauteng and North West, 25º 55' 45" S 27º 47' 20" E Type: Cultural heritage Known in South Africa as the Cradle of Humankind, the region of Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Kromdraai and environs has one of the world's richest...

uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park

uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park

Year inscribed: 2000 Location: KwaZulu-Natal, 29º 23' S 29º 32' 26" E Type: Mixed cultural and natural heritage The uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park has outstanding natural beauty, Africa's highest mountain range south of Kilimanjaro, and the largest and most concentrated...

Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape

Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape

Year inscribed: 2003 Location: Limpopo province, 22º 11' 33" S 29º 14' 20" E Type: Cultural heritage Mapungubwe - "place of the stone of wisdom" - was South Africa's first kingdom, and developed into the subcontinent's largest realm, lasting for 400 years before it...

Cape Floral Region

Cape Floral Region

Year inscribed: 2004 Location: Western and Eastern Cape, 34º 10' S 18º 22' 30" E Type: Natural heritage The Cape Floral Region takes up only 0.04% of the world's land area, yet contains an astonishing 3% percent of its plant species. This makes it one of the richest...

Vredefort Dome

Vredefort Dome

Year inscribed: 2005 Location: Free State and North West, 26º 51' 36" S 27º 15' 36" E Type: Natural heritage Some 2-billion years ago a meteorite 10 kilometres in diameter hit the earth about 100km southwest of Johannesburg, creating an enormous impact crater. This...

Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape

Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape

Year inscribed: 2007 Location: Northern Cape, 28º 36' S 17º 12' 14" E Type: Cultural heritage The Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape covers 160 000 hectares of dramatic mountainous desert in the north-west part of South Africa. A unique feature of the site...

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