Located about 16 kilometres from central Johannesburg, Soweto is a collective of townships that grew into a city of its own. Originally built for temporary housing of mine workers, it became a ghetto for Johannesburg’s black population from 1923 under the Urban Areas Act. The township has always been at the centre of South Africa’s turbulent history — most famously the 1976 uprising, when students protesting the imposition of Afrikaans as a language of instruction were met with police gunfire. Over 600 people were killed, and the events galvanised international opposition to apartheid.
Today Soweto is a thriving, sprawling city-within-a-city, and most of its sights relate to the struggle for freedom. In Orlando West you will find the former houses of two Nobel Peace Prize laureates on Vilakazi Street: Mandela House (now a museum) and Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s house. The Hector Pieterson Museum documents the 1976 uprising with photographs and testimonies of remarkable power. Regina Mundi Church, the largest Catholic church in South Africa, served as a meeting place for anti-apartheid activists and still bears the bullet holes from when police opened fire inside. The Orlando Towers — decommissioned cooling towers painted with vivid murals — now offer bungee jumps and panoramic views.