Mapungubwe National Park – Overview

Mapungubwe National Park is a remote Unesco World Heritage Site that extends south from the Limpopo River as it flows along the Zimbabwe and Botswana borders. It is notable for its spectacular boulder- and baobab-strewn scenery and the cultural significance of Mapungubwe Hill, the site of a 13th-century civilization. Wildlife isn’t prolific, but elephant, white rhino and various antelope might be seen.

Best Time To Go

May to September (Winter)

High Season

None (The park never gets busy)

Size More info

280km² / 108mi²

Altitude More info

511-614m / 1,677-2,014ft

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Pros & Cons

• Beautiful wilderness scenery and off-the-beaten-track feel
• Guided tours of an abandoned medieval hilltop city
• Wildlife includes four of the Big Five (no buffalo)
• Great birding facilities include a treetop walk and hide
• Stunning museum and interpretive center
• Rest camp offering self-catering accommodations to self-drive visitors
• Guided walks, game drives and night drives available
• Wildlife densities are relatively low
• The remote location makes it difficult to combine with other attractions
• No high-end accommodations available

Wildlife

Mapungubwe combined with the Tuli Block in neighboring Botswana and Zimbabwe is a transfrontier conservation area in which wildlife movement is seasonal or nomadic. Four of the Big Five are usually present in Mapungubwe (the exception being buffalo), but only elephant could be termed common. Leopards favor riverine forest along the Limpopo, while lion and cheetah prefer open country. Look out for giraffe, zebra, eland, gemsbok, greater kudu and klipspringer.

Scenery

Mapungubwe’s dramatic landscape is dominated by massive sandstone formations that take on a golden hue at sunrise and sunset. The semi-arid environment is home to a surprising variety of trees, including 20-plus acacias, but it is the enormous baobabs that steal the show. Don’t miss the viewpoint over the confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers: this is the spot where South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe all meet.

Activities

A highlight is a guided walking tour of Mapungubwe Hill, which housed an important Iron Age trading center in the 13th century. Before doing this, drop into the superb museum and interpretive center, which places the hill in historical context and houses many artifacts unearthed there (notably a replica of its famous golden rhino statue). Self-drivers can explore the road circuit independently, but guided drives and night drives are available.

Weather & Climate

Mapungubwe gets extremely hot in the middle of summer (October to April), when daytime temperatures can soar to 45°C/113°F. Summer is also the Wet season, though rainfall can be sporadic and rarely lasts a full day. Winter (May to September) coincides with the Dry season and brings clear, warm days followed by cold nights.

Best Time To Visit

For the best conditions, try to visit Mapungubwe during the first few months of the dry winter season, which stretches from May to September. By this time, the heat and precipitation of summer (October to April) have passed, but the chilly nights of the later drier months are yet to arrive.

Want To Visit Mapungubwe?

• Tour Operators for Mapungubwe