UNESCO, South Africa, World Heritage Sites

South African World Heritage Sites

Did you know that Table Mountain National Park has more plant species in its 22 000 hectares than the British Isles or New Zealand? Or that the Drakensberg has both the highest mountain range in Africa south of Kilimanjaro and the continent's richest concentration of rock art?

South Africa is home to eight of the world's official heritage sites, as determined by Unesco's World Heritage Committee.

The committee seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of "outstanding value to humanity".

Internationally, there are 851 World Heritage sites in 141 countries (as of April 2008). South Africa has a total of eight - four cultural, three natural and one mixed (cultural and natural) site. Starting with the first site added to the list, ending with the latest, these are:

iSimangaliso Wetland Park

Robben Island

Cradle of Humankind

uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park

Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape

Cape Floral Region

Vredefort Dome

Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape

UNESCO, South Africa, World Heritage Sites, iSimangaliso Wetland, Robben Island, Cradle of Humankind, uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park, Mapungubwe