Before You Go
- Confirm passport validity and entry requirements.
- Check whether a tourist visa is required.
- Keep digital copies of important documents.
- Consider purchasing travel insurance.
Pretoria
Rand (ZAR)
11 Official Languages
MayβSep
SAST (UTC+2)
Welcome to South Africa, a country where dramatic mountains, world-class wine regions, and abundant wildlife create extraordinary diversity. Cape Town's Table Mountain rises dramatically above the city, offering sweeping views over ocean and vineyard alike. Kruger National Park ranks among Africa's premier safari destinations, home to lions, elephants, and the full Big Five. The Cape Winelands offer stunning valley scenery alongside some of the finest wine produced outside Europe. South Africa's Garden Route winds along a dramatic coastline of forests, lagoons, and charming towns. The Drakensberg Mountains offer dramatic peaks and ancient San rock art amid excellent hiking. Vibrant townships and cultural sites throughout the country reflect a powerful, ongoing story of transformation. South Africa invites travelers to experience an extraordinary blend of nature, wildlife, and history.
Helpful information to consider before and during your visit.
Discover some of South Africa's most popular flavors, traditional dishes and memorable local treats during your visit.
Bobotie is a signature South Africa specialty known for its distinctive local ingredients, seasoning and traditional preparation.
This popular South Africa dish brings together familiar regional flavors and is commonly enjoyed in homes, markets or local restaurants.
A well-loved part of South Africa cuisine, Boerewors reflects the country's culinary traditions and locally available ingredients.
Biltong is a comforting regional favorite, prepared in styles that may vary between families, cities and different parts of South Africa.
Visitors often seek out Potjiekos for an authentic taste of South Africa's everyday cooking and food culture.
This traditional favorite highlights the bold, savory or gently spiced flavors associated with cooking in South Africa.
Sosaties is widely recognized in South Africa and is often served at casual meals, celebrations or community gatherings.
A memorable choice for travelers, Malva Pudding offers a flavorful introduction to the ingredients and techniques used across South Africa.
This classic food is an important part of South Africa's culinary identity and is best sampled freshly prepared.
South Africa is home to three separate capital cities, an unusual arrangement in which Pretoria serves as the administrative capital, Cape Town as the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein as the judicial capital, a division dating back to a political compromise made at the country's founding in 1910. The country contains the Cradle of Humankind, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that has yielded some of the most important hominid fossils ever discovered, including remains providing crucial evidence for humanity's evolutionary origins in Africa.
South Africa is also the only country in the world to have built nuclear weapons and then voluntarily dismantled its entire arsenal, doing so in the early 1990s as apartheid ended and the country transitioned toward democratic governance. The country is home to Table Mountain, one of the oldest mountains on Earth, and its Cape Floral Region, though relatively small in size, contains one of the richest concentrations of plant species found anywhere on the planet, rivaling far larger tropical rainforests in sheer botanical diversity.
South Africa held its first fully democratic elections in 1994, ending decades of apartheid rule, with Nelson Mandela emerging from 27 years in prison to become the country's first Black president, one of the most widely recognized political transitions of the 20th century.
