Cradle of Humankind Full Day Tour

About this tour

Welcome to Maropeng and the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site. Maropeng means "returning to the place of origin" in Setswana, the main indigenous language of this area. The Cradle of Humankind is an easy drive of about an hour from Johannesburg or Pretoria. Our ancestors have lived in this area for more than 3 million years, so you are coming to the birthplace of humanity. Welcome home!

This full-day tour takes you to both the Sterkfontein Caves and Maropeng, the visitor centre of the Cradle of Humankind. The famous Sterkfontein Caves are found in a dolomite hill in the Isaac Stegmann Nature Reserve and are a declared national monument.

You start at the newly opened 260 square metre exhibition. This scientific exhibition has four large show cases with life-like models of hominids, a sabre-tooth cat, a reconstruction of a mined cave versus a pristine cave, cave formations and geology, early life forms, fossils, and specific finds like Mrs Ples, the Taung Child and Little Foot.

To catch your breath, a light lunch is served on the balcony at Sterkfontein before travelling a short distance to Maropeng. From the minute you arrive at the car park, the journey of discovery starts. The iconic architecture sets the scene as the huge mound of the Tumulus comes into view, and from there it is one thrilling experience after another as the secret to our ancestry is revealed.