The Cape
Cape Town, Table Mountain and the peninsula belong to one broad entry. Allow different days for the city, the mountain and the coast rather than assuming one excursion covers the whole landscape.
Country guide
South Africa
7 places across the five collections. Start with what draws you here, then build a journey that gives each place enough time.
Photograph
Danie van der Merwe from Cape Town, South Africa · CC BY 2.0Country orientation
Find the shape of your journey.
See how the 7 entries are distributed, then choose a cluster that suits the journey you want. Numbers on this map refer to the list alongside it.
Representative points, including broad regions and shared-border entries. A pin is not a visitor entrance or evidence of a direct travel connection.
- Cape Town, Table Mountain & Cape Peninsula
The Original 100 · Mountain, city and two contrasting coastlines at Africa's southwestern edge.
- Kruger National Park
Honourable Mentions · A vast wildlife landscape best explored without rushing.
- The Drakensberg
Honourable Mentions · An escarpment landscape with a deep record of human presence.
- Richtersveld
Extraordinary Discoveries · A desert mountain landscape sustained by seasonal knowledge.
- Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
The Wider World · Dry riverbeds, red dunes and desert-adapted wildlife create an expansive landscape whose apparent emptiness rewards attention.
- Mapungubwe
The Wider World · An archaeological hill and surrounding landscape reveal the history of a southern African kingdom and its trading connections.
- iSimangaliso Wetland Park
The Wider World · Coastal dunes, wetlands, lakes and marine habitats form a remarkably varied meeting of land and water.
Plan a country journey
Choose a regional base and a clear purpose for the journey.
Wildlife and the northeast
Kruger, Mapungubwe and iSimangaliso present different ecological and cultural stories. Select the region and visitor experience, then plan the actual road stages and accommodation.
Mountain and desert journeys
The Drakensberg, Richtersveld and Kgalagadi lie in different parts of the country. Each deserves a route shaped by its own terrain and conditions.
These are editorial starting points, not timed itineraries. Use the linked place guides for practical details, then build your own route in the travel workbench.
Find your way through South Africa.
The country guide gathers The Original 100 and every alternative included elsewhere on the site. A shared regional wonder may appear in more than one country.
The Original 100
1–100 · 1 place in this country
73 · South Africa
Cape Town, Table Mountain & Cape Peninsula
Mountain, city and two contrasting coastlines at Africa's southwestern edge.
Honourable Mentions
101–200 · 2 places in this country
169 · South Africa & Lesotho
The Drakensberg
An escarpment landscape with a deep record of human presence.
Extraordinary Discoveries
201–300 · 1 place in this country
The Wider World
401–500 · 3 places in this country
413 · South Africa & Botswana
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
Dry riverbeds, red dunes and desert-adapted wildlife create an expansive landscape whose apparent emptiness rewards attention.
418 · South Africa
Mapungubwe
An archaeological hill and surrounding landscape reveal the history of a southern African kingdom and its trading connections.
424 · South Africa
iSimangaliso Wetland Park
Coastal dunes, wetlands, lakes and marine habitats form a remarkably varied meeting of land and water.
Turn the collection into a journey.
Begin with an anchor place and its suggested base. Compare the guides’ seasonal notes and allow separately for time spent travelling. A collection of places in one country is not automatically a sensible route, particularly where islands, mountains or remote regions are involved.
Use the travel workbench to record your chosen overnight stops and the transport information you have checked. It keeps unresearched connections visible and produces a day-by-day outline you can print or export.
For international travel, check current entry requirements, regional advice and the operating details of the actual transport and visitor authorities. Country and territory labels here organise the guides; broad shared landscapes do not imply unrestricted border crossings.