Discover South Africa's Cradle of Humankind

Human Evolution Explained at The World's Top Paleo-Tourism Site

Sep 16, 2008

Since being declared a World Heritage Site in 1999, a quiet corner of South Africa has grown into one of the country's best tourism attractions - the Cradle of Humankind.

Centred around the visitor centre at Maropeng and the rolling dolomite hills of the Kromdraai area, the Cradle of Humankind is one of the most important paleontological sites in the world today, and is fast becoming one of its most exciting tourist attractions.

This is an ancient landscape, with the hills giving way to the ancient Magaliesberg, dated at more than 2-billion years.

It was here, In1947, that Dr Robert Broom discovered the remains of Australopithecus africanus at the Sterkfontein Caves. The skull of this early hominid –nicknamed “Mrs Ples” - became famous across the world. Today, this landmark event in human evolution has given way to one of the world’s top paleo-tourism sites.

Adventure On Tap and History on Display

Maropeng is dominated by the huge Tumulus - a recreation of an ancient burial mound, which welcomes visitors from around the world to the place where they all began. As a welcome centre, Maropeng’s Tumulus is unsurpassed, and a great way to start a visit to this beautiful area of South Africa.

This is a place where great adventure awaits for anyone interested in finding out more about our past. An exciting subterranean boat ride starts the tour, taking visitors to more than 2500 square metres of underground museum with fascinating and exciting interactive exhibits and easy-to-understand information explaining the evolution of man.

To really appreciate the exhibition, a good half-day is needed. There are restaurants and curio shops on site, and guided tours are available.

Explore Caves and Feed Lion Cubs

There are a number of other interesting things to see and do in the Cradle of Humankind. The Wonder Cave, for example, is more than 2,2-million years old and is open daily to visitors.

The Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve, located next door to the Wonder Cave, adds animals to the beautiful scenery, with rhino, lion, cheetah, wild dog, tigers and snakes adding excitement to the itinerary. Displays and feeding sessions give visitors the chance to learn about the animals and interact with some of them, hand-feeding lion and cheetah cubs.

Curios, Coffee Shops and Cultural Tours

A tourism route – the Magalies Meander – starts not far from Kromdraai, taking visitors on a slow drive through the pretty scenery and villages along the way, dotted with coffee shops, arts and curio centres and farm stalls, as well as guest houses, lodges and hotels.

For the adventurous there are canopy tours, 4X4 trails, abseiling, hiking routes, horse riding and even hot air ballooning to get the adrenaline pumping. Culture vultures are also well catered for with initiatives like Lesedi Cultural Village, where guests can learn about South Africa’s rainbow of ethnic communities from the San to the Zulu and Venda people to Ostri-San, the recreation of a bushman village where visitors learn about the heritage of the Khoi-San and their unique rock art.

Riverside Ramble

The Crocodile Ramble is another interesting tourism route bordering the Cradle of Humankind. Following the path of the Crocodile River, the ramble takes in the scenery of the area as well as curio shops, arts and crafts galleries, restaurants, pubs, antiques shops and some quaint guest houses and bed and breakfast establishments.

The copyright of the article Discover South Africa's Cradle of Humankind in South Africa Travel is owned by Sharon van Wyk. Permission to republish Discover South Africa's Cradle of Humankind in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.