Mapungubwe National Park

Where a precolonial African kingdom traded with the world

Mapungubwe is both a national park and one of the most important archaeological landscapes in southern Africa. In the early second millennium, it was the center of a sophisticated kingdom linked to long-distance trade networks stretching toward the Indian Ocean world. Today the landscape combines deep historical significance, sandstone scenery and a sense of quiet remoteness near the Zimbabwe and Botswana borders.