Mapungubwe National Park

Formerly known as the Vhembe Dongola Nature Reserve, the park has recently been declared a World Heritage Site to recognize and preserve this mysterious archaeological discovery.

The Mapungubwe Cultural Complex is in the process of merging with the Tuli Block of Botswana and the Tuli Safari region of Zimbabwe, to create a much larger Limpopo-Shashe Transfrontier Park.

Mapungubwe Hill (""the stone of wisdom"") was the centre of a pre-Shona iron age kingdom that began over 1,000 years ago and reached it's height of power during the 11th and 12th centuries. This kingdom pre-dates, and is the root of, the Great Zimbabwe empire to the north that reached is pinnacle hundreds of years later.

Royal burial chambers found in ruins on top of the Mapungubwe Hill contain over 7, 500 ounces of gold, including a golden rhinoceros, as well as colourful beads imported from as far away as North Africa and Asia.

ATTRACTIONS & ACTIVITIES AT MAPUNGUBWE NATIONAL PARK:
- Mapungubwe Hill
- Treetop Hide
- Tshugulu 4x4 Eco Route
- Maloutswa Pan

SUMMARY OF WILDLIFE & FLORA:
Herbivores: elephant, eland, kudu, hartebeest, wildebeest, giraffe, zebra
Omnivores: badgers, porcupine
Carnivores: lion, leopard, cheetah, hyena, wild dog
Reptiles: pythons, black mambas
Birdlife: over 400 species of birds

DIRECTIONS TO MAPUNGUBWE NATIONAL PARK:
- take the N1 north to Musina (Messina)
- follow the R572 west for 75 km to the park gates