Soweto Travel Guide

Hector Pieterson Museum is built to commemorate the 12-year-old boy Hector Pieterson who died in the 1976 Soweto Uprising, an important historical witness to South Africa anti-apartheid struggle. Through photographs, videos, artifacts and oral histories, the museum comprehensively presents the events of 16 June 1976 when Soweto students protested against the apartheid education system, and the profound impact of this uprising on South African history. The most powerful exhibit is the famous photograph of Pieterson being carried after being shot, which became an iconic image for global condemnation of apartheid. Visiting here offers deep understanding of the price paid by South African youth for freedom, and is an unmissable place to understand modern South African history.

Mandela House is located at 8115 Orlando West, Soweto, the red brick cottage where Nelson Mandela lived from 1946 to 1962. This humble dwelling witnessed Mandela critical years in the struggle against apartheid, and was where he lived with his family before being arrested. Now converted into a museum, the house displays precious family photographs, personal letters and household items, telling the story of this great man life, struggle and arrest here. Visiting this site offers a profound understanding of the immense sacrifices Mandela made for the cause of freedom, and is an important place to learn about South Africa anti-apartheid history.