List of World Heritage Sites in South Africa
Name Location Period UNESCO data Description
Fossil Hominid Sites of South Africa Sterkfontein Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs 915 ; 1999 , 2005 ( extended ) ; iii , vi The area contains various fossil sites containing traces of human occupation and evolution dating back some 3.3 million years
Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape Limpopo Province 11th to 14th centuries 1099 ; 2003 ; ii , iii , iv , v This open savanna lies at the confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe rivers . It was the heart of the Mapungubwe Kingdom until the 14th century , when the area was abandoned , leaving untouched remains of palaces and settlements
Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape Northern Cape 19th century to present 1265 ; 2007 ; iv , v This mountainous desert is communally owned and managed . It sustains the semi-nomadic pastoral livelihood of the Namaqua people , including seasonal migrations that have persisted for two millennia
Robben Island Table Bay 17th to 20th centuries 916 ; 1999 ; iii , iv Between the 17th and 20th centuries , the island was used as a prison , including for political prisoners , a hospital for socially unacceptable groups ( leper colony ) , and a military base
Cape Floral Region Protected Areas Western Cape , Eastern Cape N/A 1007 ; 2004 ; ix , x The site consists of eight protected areas that are among the richest in plant life worldwide , containing nearly 20% of Africa 's total flora . Its scientific value is demonstrated by the presence of fire and radiation adaptivity in plants and seed dispersal by insects
iSimangaliso Wetland Park KwaZulu-Natal N/A 914 ; 1999 ; vii , ix , x The park features a variety of landforms , including coral reefs , long sandy beaches , coastal dunes , lake systems , swamps , and reed and papyrus wetland , caused by fluvial , marine and aeolian processes . This has resulted in an exceptional species diversity
Vredefort Dome Vredefort Paleoproterozoic era 1162 ; 2005 ; viii The crater , with a diameter of 190 km ( 120 mi ) , is the largest , oldest and most deeply eroded astrobleme found on Earth , dating back more than 2 billion years
uKhahlamba / Drakensberg Park KwaZulu-Natal , Lesotho 2000 B.C 985 ; 2000 ; i , iii , vii , x The park features soaring basaltic buttresses , incisive dramatic cutbacks , golden sandstone ramparts , rolling high-altitude grasslands , pristine steep-sided river valleys and rocky gorges
ǂKhomani Cultural Landscape 1545 , 2017 , 959,100 ha , ( v ) ( vi ) The ǂKhomani Cultural Landscape is located at the border with Botswana and Namibia in the northern part of the country , coinciding with the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park ( KGNP ) . The large expanse of sand contains evidence of human occupation from the Stone Age to the present and is associated with the culture of the formerly nomadic ǂKhomani San people and the strategies that allowed them to adapt to harsh desert conditions . They developed a specific ethnobotanical knowledge , cultural practices and a worldview related to the geographical features of their environment . The ǂKhomani Cultural Landscape bears testimony to the way of life that prevailed in the region and shaped the site over thousands of years
Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains Mpumalanga Archean aera 1575 ; 2018 ; viii The Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains represents the best-preserved succession of volcanic and sedimentary rock dating back 3.6 to 3.25 billion years , when the first continents were starting to form on the primitive Earth
World Heritage Sites
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites are places of importance to cultural or natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972. South Africa accepted the convention on 10 July 1997, making its historical sites eligible for inclusion on the list. As of 2018, there are nine World Heritage Sites in South Africa, including four cultural sites, four natural sites and one mixed site.