Qunu, Wild Coast
Just south of Mthatha (Umtata) in the Eastern Cape, the rolling green hills of a cluster of villages known as Qunu have recently been added to the map in South Africa because of their association with Madiba. Qunu is the village where Nelson Mandela spent his childhood and it is close to Mthatha, where the Nelson Mandela Museum opened in February 2000.
All 18 communities that fall under the Qunu village have been affected positively by the recent attention. They have access to water, electricity, computer labs, libraries and pre-schools and the people, deeply rooted in Xhosa culture, are proud to have Madiba as the reason for the growth in interest and tourism. More and more tourists are adding Qunu to their itinerary and ocean liners, anchoring in East London, are sending their passengers by road to Qunu through the beautiful Great Kei River Pass.
In Qunu the air is unpolluted and you can still see the Tembu and Xhosa women in their colourful and traditional dress with white ochre tattooed faces to protect their skins from the sun and enhance their beauty. These same pastures are where Mandela herded cattle and sheep and where you can find his retirement home and the Nelson Mandela Youth and Heritage Centre. People from all over the world are interested in visiting Qunu and the youth have plans to form a tourism organisation and to include Qunu in hiking trails in the Wild Coast area in order to encourage further tourism.
After his release, Mandela built a small house on his family plot, said to be a replica of where he spent his last years in Victor Vester prison. He has subsequently built a bigger house where he stays when visiting Qunu. The community of Qunu, who are still largely reliant on subsistence farming and traditional ways of life, is very hospitable and only too happy to share experiences and stories with tourists.
The Eastern Cape produced a number of other heroes from the anti-apartheid era - Walter Sisulu, Thabo Mbeki, Steve Biko, Chris Hani and Oliver Tambo - making this area's claim to be the ‘real Africa' an authentic one.
Travellers' Reviews
1 Review from SA-Venues.com travellers. All reviews are verified.
Verified review
We wanted to see Qunu because of Nelson Mandela's ties to it. It was interesting due to the combination of a rural lifestyle with a good infrastructure. It's small but full of history. MAkes for a great day trip.
Nicky (Ontario, Canada)
In the vicinity
Hotels & other accommodation options

Wild Bay Cottage
Wild Bay Cottage is a four bedroom self catering property, which is located within the well-known Hole in the Wall Resort; it is ideal for larger...

Zesty Guesthouse
Zesty Guesthouse is situated in the scenic surroundings of Port Edward on the South Coast. The luxury accommodation offers tranquility and warm h...

Port St Johns River Lodge
Situated on the mighty Umzimvubu River, Port St. John's River Lodge provides luxury accommodation with personal attention to detail and mouth wat...

Umtamvuna River Lodge
Umtamvuna River Lodge can be found in a nature reserve right on the banks of the Umtamvuna River. Accommodation is offered in suites with air con...

Lodge Azure
Lodge Azure boasts a range of thoughtfully designed accommodations, including spacious family units and cozy twin and double rooms. The family un...

Crawford's Beach Lodge
Set along the Wild Coast, Crawford's Beach Lodge offers rustic luxury accommodation for the most discerning of travellers, who are looking for pr...

Umngazi Hotel & Spa
The Wild Coast may be South Africa's most spectacular and yet least touristy region with its rocky coastline, indigenous forests, secluded coves ...


Shoes Guest House Two
Shoes Guest House Two in the Central Mthatha area and offers value for money accommodation. Shoes Guest House Two has deluxe king rooms, each wit...
Noteworthy attractions

Wild Coast Sun Country Club
The Wild Coast Sun Country Club is a rugged beauty of a course. Carts are compulsory but this does not detract from the competitive challenge. Th...

Hole In The Wall
The Hole in the Wall at Coffee Bay is a unique structure with a huge detached cliff that has a giant opening carved through its centre by the wav...

Wild Coast Sun Golf Course
A memorable golf course situated on the magnificent Wild Coast. World-renowned golf course architect, Robert Trent Jones, has used the dramatic c...

Nelson Mandela Museum
The Museum offers visitors an inspiring journey through the life of Nelson Mandela. Known affectionately as 'Madiba', he is loved and respected w...

Silaka Nature Reserve
The Silaka Nature Reserve serves to protect the biodiversity of the coastal forest in the region, and stretches along the coastline between Secon...

Dwesa Cwebe Nature Reserves
The two fairly small sister nature reserves of Dwesa and Cwebe lie separated only by the Mbashe River on the central wild coast, bordered on one ...

Hluleka Nature Reserve
The virtually undiscovered Hluleka Nature Reserve lies roughly 20 kilometres south of Port St Johns on South Africa's Wild Coast, a part of the w...

Luchaba Nature Reserve
Close to the town of Umtata, now known as Mthatha, lies the charming 460 hectare nature reserve of Luchaba. Luchaba Nature Reserve lies adjacent ...

Magwa Waterfall
The Magwa waterfall is pretty impressive. It is one of few waterfalls on the rugged Wild Coast that is accessible – others entail such effort to ...
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