Mapungubwe National Park

Bush, baobabs and cultural significance

Getting to Mapungubwe is an experience in itself: driving along the Zimbabwe border on the empty Rte 572, you encounter shimmering mirages, troops of baboons and surreal baobab trees. The park is an extraordinary place, covering 28,000 hectares in the sweltering Limpopo River valley, with viewpoints providing panoramas of South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana. As well as the gnarly, rocky landscape and animals including leopards and elephants, Mapungubwe offers some fascinating cultural history.

A World Heritage Site, the park was once the heart of southern Africa's first indigenous kingdom. More than 9,000 people lived here around AD 1300, and archaeologists discovered a hilltop graveyard, containing treasures such as a rhino figurine wrapped in gold foil. Tours of the award-winning Interpretive Centre and the graveyard give a sense of Mapungubwe’s historical significance.