Cradle of Humankind

Cradle of Humankind is one of the sites in South Africa devoted to fossil hominids. This site and two others are collectively listed as a single entity by the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in South Africa.



Understand
Located just northwest of Johannesburg this area became a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to the large number of humanoid fossils that has been found here. Thirteen well-explored fossil sites and over 200 caves are located within the cradle. The site covers an area of around 47 000 hectares and offers a variety of tourist attractions. In 2013, a previously unknown hominid Homo Naledi was discovered in caves on the site. Homo Naledi is believed to have inhabited the area during the Middle Pleistocene Age (335,000–236,000 years ago).

Get in
From the N1 in Johannesburg, take exit 80 Roodepoort (M8 14th Ave) and get onto Hendrik Potgieter road (M47) heading north. Hendrik Potgieter will become the N14 and lead directly into the Cradle of Humankind.

Do