Overview
Soweto, the name of the most famous of South Africa's "black townships", is in fact an acronym for SOth WEstern TOwnships. As the name indicates it used to be located a little way to the south-west of Johannesburg. These days it is rightly seen as part of greater Johannesburg and is physically one with it as both cities have expanded to meet and envelop each other.

Soweto is a place of past and present suffering as well as remarkable pride and achievements. Residents vary from the extremely poor living in shanty areas to the very wealthy. Most residents are working-class families who have to struggle to make ends meet.

The place is an incredible melting pot of cultures with all of the black tribes / black language groups in South Africa represented as well as a healthy mix of peoples from other Southern African countries. These days you'll also find a lot of (mostly illegal) immigrants from East and West Africa as people stream to the economic steam engine of Africa (Johannesburg) in search of hope and opportunity. All of this, combined with a rich history, makes Soweto one of the most interesting destinations in South Africa - if not Africa.

Tours
Various Soweto tour operators make a living out of foreign tourists, introducing them to the history of, and life in Soweto. We (Africa Deluxe Tours) can definitely recommend a tour of Soweto, subject to visitors making use of a reputable operator. Our approach is to contract a Soweto based operator / tourist guide to ensure that the financial benefits of your tour goes back to Soweto residents.

A typical Soweto tour will include all, or some of the following elements: A drive past of the previous or present houses of Soweto's three Nobel Peace Prize winners (Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela and Albert Luthili); a short walk-about at the taxi-rank and informal market outside the Chris-Hani Baragwana Hospital; a drive-past of Winnie Mandela's present day house (Nelson Mandela's former wife); the Hector Pieterson Memorial in remembrance of one of the first students to die during the 1976 anti-Apartheid schools uprising; the Mandela Squatter Camp and the Regina Mundi church which played a big role during the so-called Struggle (against Apartheid). Some tours include a visit to a typical township shebeen (informal township tavern).