Sud Africa | optimiza tu viaje

South Africa

South Africa is a country on the southernmost tip of the African continent with 2,798 kilometers of coastline on the oceans Atlantic and Indian .

borders with namibia , botswana and Zimbabwe to the north and with Mozambique and Swaziland to northeast .

It has 3 capitals: Pretoria , seat of the executive power ; Bloemfontein , seat of the power of attorney and Cape Town , home of the legislative power . It is characterized by its many different ecosystems. Inland, the Kruger National Park is a safari destination, populated by big game. The Western Cape has beaches, abundant vineyards around Stellenbosch and Paarl, sheer cliffs at the Cape of Good Hope, forests and lagoons along the Garden Route, and Cape Town below Table Mountain and its summit. flat. It is known for its diversity of cultures, languages, and religious beliefs, which is why it is known as the rainbow nation. Eleven languages are recognized as official by the Constitution of South Africa .

How to travel and move around South Africa

Plane: OR Tambo International Airport east of Johannesburg is the main airport in southern Africa. The other major international airports are the of Cape Town and King Shaka (Durban). There are also flights to the South African capital from Madrid and other important airports in Spain that make stops in London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Zurich or Paris. It is also possible to travel to Cape Town from the Johannesburg airport. Once in South Africa, you can travel to the main cities on domestic flights for example with South African Airways (SAA).

Bus: There is a good network of buses, of varying reliability and comfort, that cover the country in comfortable vehicles at reasonable prices. Several metropolitan areas, such as Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria and Johannesburg, have city bus networks with cheap fares.

Baz Bus: It is a practical alternative to the standard bus lines, mainly aimed at backpackers and travellers. It offers hop-on hop-off fares and door-to-door services between Cape Town and Johannesburg via the Garden Route, Port Elizabeth, Mthatha, Durban and the northern Drakensberg.

Train: It is carried out through the Commuter Corporation (SARCC) and the Metrorail companies. The safest option is the fast train, the Gautrain Rapid Rail, which runs from Johannesburg to Pretoria, passing through Rosebank, Sandton and Midrand. economy class is coming with berths and a dining car on the route between Johannesburg and Cape Town and the coast.

Taxi: the capital has two types of taxi services: metered cars and minibuses. The latter are quite cheap, but they tend to be full and are less secure.

What to see in South Africa

Cape Town

Headquarters of legislative branch was named the best place in the world to be visited, according to The New York Times. It is located near Robben Island where Nelson Mandela, Nobel Peace Prize, was imprisoned in this place for 27 years. It is the most developed, cosmopolitan and multicultural city in South Africa, making it the ideal destination to study, work and, in general, live. Its center is situated between two opposing landscapes: on one side, paradisiacal white sand beaches such as Clifton Beach or Camps Bay Beach, on the other, Table Mountain, a mountain approximately 1,000 meters high. that in November 2011, was declared one of the winners of the contest of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World . that mountain is flanked by Devil's Peak to the left and the Lion's Head to the right, 669 m above sea level and where you can find the best views of Cape Town. Other places are the Cape of Good Hope, the Cape Vineyards and Grootbos, a private nature reserve that National Geographic considers one of the 25 best in the world.

Cape of Good Hope

It is a small 20-kilometer-long peninsula that points south from Cape Town. Its eastern coastline is washed by the waters of False Bay, while the western side faces the open ocean. In the northern part, the great plateau of Table Mountain marks the division of the cape with the city. At its southernmost point, the Cape of Good Hope has an extension to the east known as Cape Point. Despite not being the southernmost point in Africa (it is Cape Agulhas, located 150 kilometers to the southeast), it is considered the geographical accident that marks the division between the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean. It is one of the best places in the world for sighting the southern right whale, the humpback whale and the Bryde's whale as well as killer whales, dolphins and seals

Port Elizabeth

It is a city located on Algoa Bay, in the province of the Eastern Cape located in the coastal center of the Eastern Cape province just 15 minutes from the airport and 770 kilometers east of Cape Town. It is considered one of the cities in South Africa with the largest territorial extension, housing the most impressive beaches in the entire African continent, such as the beaches of Kings, Hobie, Humewood (an avant-garde beach classified with blue flag), Pollock and Denville and with protected areas, where you can fishing, surfing, diving, snorkeling and sailing in Wildside, Sardinia Bay, Blue Horizon Bay and Bluewate Bay, with views of the sea.

Durban

It is a coastal city, the third largest in South Africa located shores of the Indian Ocean, capital of Kwa-Zulu Natal and known for having received colonial, African and Indian influences. In fact, on its promenade you will find dozens of groups dancing traditional dances of this ethnic group. Known as the Miami of South Africa or the Costa del Sol of Africa with excellent hotel tourism and an excellent temperate climate that attracts tourism. It is the owner of an intense cultural life inspired by the trade and exchange carried out in the city's port for centuries. To the south of Durban you will see the rustic Wild Coast, with long stretches of dunes and to the north you will find the spectacular Big Five game reserves.

Bloemfontein

A little less than 1000 km from Cape Town and located almost in the center of the country, in the province of the Free State and founded in 1846 is the headquarters of judiciary . The literal translation of Bloemfontein from Afrikans is "fountain of flowers", which is why the city is nicknamed "The City of Roses" with the annual rose festival being a very popular local event.

Among the best attractions in this city are the Anglo-Boer War Museum, the Sand du Plessis theatre, the Naval Hill Planetarium, the Oliewenhuis Art Museum and the only botanical garden in the Free State province whose orchid house with its brilliant flowers always in bloom in King's Park, will allow you to visit popular art markets every month and enjoy everything they have to offer.

nelspruit

Located in the northeast of South Africa on the Crocodile River, about 100 kilometers west of the border with Mozambique and 330 kilometers east of Johannesburg, founded in 1905, it is the capital of the province of Mpumalanga. The city has an airport, the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport , which is used primarily for flights to and from Johannesburg, but also has frequent flights to Cape Town and other cities. is an important manufacturing and agricultural center being its main industries such as citrus canning, paper production, furniture manufacturing and lumber. Its fertile soils and subtropical climate provide perfect conditions for the growth of citrus and tropical fruits, mainly mango, banana, avocado or avocado, and also many varieties of nuts. The economy of this city receives a constant boost because its airport is a major stopover for tourists heading to the Kruger National Park - approximately 66 kilometers east of the city - and to Mozambique.

Johannesburg

It is the largest and most populous city in South Africa located at a distance of around 1400 km from Cape Town. Also considered the financial and economic capital of the country, it is officially classified as a "global city"; enters the top 40 of the largest metropolitan areas in the world. It was founded in 1886 after the discovery of gold in the Witwatersrand and today there is a large-scale trade in gold and diamonds, although the tourism sector is also notable. In the Gold Reef City, northwest of the city, is the Apartheid Museum where the story of social discrimination experienced in South Africa during the 20th century is told. In Nelson Mandela Square we can also find one of the largest shopping centers in all of South Africa, which is called Sandton City. Other important places are the Soccer City Stadium, Newton Precinct, Neighborgoods Market and Carlton Center Office Tower among others.

Kruger National Park

It limits to the north with Mozambique and to the east with Zimbabwe, more specifically, with the Limpopo National Park and the Gonarezhou National Park. These two parks and the Kruger Park make up the so-called Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park. is the animal reserve most important of South Africa , with 18,989 km² , stretching 350 km from north to south and 60 km from east to west.

Created in 1898 it is the oldest and the largest; the canyons of this Kruger park have been named Biosphere Reserve by Unesco Its high density of wild animals includes the 5 species of big game: lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants and buffalo. Hundreds of other mammals live here, as well as several species of birds, such as vultures, eagles and storks. The landscape includes mountains, bushy plains, and tropical forests.

Soweto

It is a municipality of Johannesburg located 24 km southwest of that city, in the province of Gauteng. The name Soweto is a contraction of the English "South Western Township" (Municipality of the Southwest). The city was built so that black Africans could stay during the apartheid era. The rapid growth of the population meant that overcrowding was common in the city, as well as oppression. However, today it has been recovering little by little and is beginning to receive visitors from all over the world. In addition, some upper-middle class neighborhoods such as Orlando West and Dube are consolidating in Soweto. In this city you can visit the Apartheid Museum and the Hector Pieterson Museum. On At Freedom Square, you'll see a statue of Mandela in a space designed as a reminder that peace and freedom must be preserved. Other notable attractions are the Gold Reef City Theme Park and the House of Nelson Mandela.

Praetorship

Capital of South Africa , located about 50 km from Johannesburg , is the city where the administrative headquarters of the country is located, it is where the headquarters of the Executive Power is located. Its importance is given by being the place where the main universities of South Africa are located, such as the University of Pretoria, the University of South Africa and the Tshwane University of Technology. It has become a cosmopolitan and varied city, with an economy based on industry that is located in the metropolitan area, being the headquarters of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research of this country. The places of interest for tourists are its main street, Church Street, the Church Square where the statue of Paul Kruger , considered the symbol of Pretoria, the City Hall with its carillon and its 32 bells, public gardens like the Burgers Park , the prince park and the Springbok Park , as well as the botanical garden and the zoo. Among its museums stand out the Museum of Art , the National Cultural History and Open Air Museum , where samples of prehistoric rock art and the different ethnic groups of South Africa .

St. Lucia

Declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and one of the largest protected areas in South Africa is the largest estuary on the African continent, home to hundreds of hippos and crocodiles and where one of the three protected parks in South Africa is located: Isimangaliso Park, an enviable ecosystem with many beaches. Being a settlement in the Umkhanyakude District Municipality in KwaZulu-Nata Province, it is still a small town, or rather, “a street”, McKenzie St, with little shops and bars, with a very Hawaiian air . Entirely focused on tourism, throughout that main Street, You can find supermarkets, ATMs, gas stations, souvenir shops and, of course, a large number of bars and restaurants. Behind that street is the estuary, which surrounds Santa Lucia. More than 800 hippos and 1,000 Nile crocodiles live in the lake that bears the same name.

safari

South Africa has 21 national parks that occupy an area of 40,000 square kilometers and where you can see the "big five": lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhinoceros. The best known is the Kruger Park , the oldest and also the largest. Another of the most visited parks is the table mountain national park on the Western Cape Province , located in Cape Town; the Addo Elephant National Park , elephant park located near Port Elizabeth; bontebok national park the smallest of the 20 national parks of less than 28 square kilometers. and located 6 kilometers south of the town of Swellendam, almost 220 km from Cape Town or the camdenboo national park It almost completely surrounds the city of Graaff-Reinet, 270 km from Port Elizabeth. There are also private reserves, one of the largest in South Africa is the Welgevonden Game Lodge , located next to the marakele national park on Limpopo where you can see the Cape Vulture, the African Elephant, the Leopard and antelope species such as reedbuck, mountain reedbuck, eland and tsessebe.

Click here for accommodation

Click here to purchase

Gastronomy in South Africa

As in other countries, it has its origin in the fusion of recipes from the Dutch, Portuguese, and English colonizers, of course without forgetting the culinary use of the indigenous Sotho, Khoisan, and Xhosa tribes.

bobotie: meat pie made with minced beef or lamb, seasoned with curry, ginger and onion to which almonds, grated coconut and egg.

boereworks: sausages made from minced beef sometimes mixed with pork and/or lamb to which is added coriander, black pepper or nutmeg.

Mashonzha: Worms cooked on the grill to let them cook in their juices. They are edible in their caterpillar phase and are an important source of protein. Industrially they are canned in brine and sold in supermarkets.

Sosaties: meat skewers, usually lamb, marinated in fried onions, chillies, garlic, tamarind juice and curry leaves and then grilled or grilled.

Potjiekos: cauliflower, pumpkin, cabbage or carrot combined with meat to taste or potatoes sprinkled with salt, pepper and curry in abundance.

Vetkoek: fried dough pie stuffed with minced meat, onion and curry.

Bunny Chow: bread sandwich filled with rabbit meat stewed in sauce and seasoned with different spices.

Melktert: typical cake whose main ingredient is milk cooked with flour, eggs and sugar.

Koeksister: fried dough similar to that of the donut and that sometimes incorporates ginger, but in the form of a braid, it is covered with sugar syrup.

Rooibos: variety of red tea from a South African bush with healing properties

Click here for restaurants

Reservá los mejores Paseos y Tours por Sud Africa