Soweto Township: Private Tours – Best Prices

“Soweto is a symbol of the New South Africa, caught between old squatter misery and new prosperity, squalor and an upbeat lifestyle. It’s a vibrant city that still openly bears the scars of the apartheid past and yet shows what’s possible in the New South Africa.”

The establishment of Soweto is, like Johannesburg, directly linked to the discovery of gold in 1886. Thousands of people from across South Africa and around the world flocked to the area to seek their fortunes or offer their labor. Within just four years, Johannesburg had become the second-largest city in South Africa. More than half the population was Black, with many living in multi-racial shanty towns near the gold mines at the city’s center.

As the gold mining industry expanded, so did the need for labor. Migrant labor systems were introduced, and most workers lived in mine compounds, while others struggled to find their housing, often in appalling conditions. When you explore Soweto Township, not only for its historical depth but also for its cultural resilience and spirit. If you’re seeking to explore Soweto Township, you uncover the layers of this complex history and see how it shaped one of South Africa’s most iconic areas. Today, in a meaningful way, guided tours offer a powerful connection to their past and present.

The first residents of what is now known as Soweto were relocated into the area called Klipspruit in 1905 following their relocation from “Coolietown” in the center of Johannesburg as a result of an outbreak of bubonic plague. The Johannesburg City Council took the opportunity to establish racially segregated residential areas. Some residents were to be relocated to Alexandra township (north of Johannesburg, near the present-day Sandton). This group comprised Black, Indian, and Coloured families, and they received freehold title to their land (this was subsequently reversed by the Apartheid Government). Only Black families were located in Klipspruit, and the housing was on a rental basis. Klipspruit was subsequently renamed Pimville.

During the 1930s, the demand for housing for the large numbers of Black people who had moved into Johannesburg grew to such an extent that new housing was built in an area known as Orlando, named after the first administrator, Edwin Orlando Leaky. In the 1940s, a controversial character, James Mpanz, led the first land invasion, and some 20,000 squatters occupied land near Orlando. James Mpanza is known as the “Father of Soweto.”

In 1959 the residents of Sophiatown were forcibly removed to Soweto and occupied the area known as Meadowlands. Sir Earnest Oppenheimer, the first chairman of the Anglo American Corporation, was appalled by the housing shortage and was instrumental in arranging a loan for the construction of additional housing, and this is commemorated by the Oppenheimer Tower in Jabulani, Soweto.

Current status of Soweto.

Soweto falls within the municipality of the Johannesburg Metro Council in the province of Gauteng, which appropriately means theplace of gold.

The original rental houses have now been sold to the tenants, who received a subsidy from the government to cover the cost of the houses. Private sector housing was developed from the 1980s, funded by various banks. A freehold title is available for the properties. Services are provided by the Johannesburg Metro Council, and electricity by Eskom.

Origins of the name.

Soweto is an acronym for South Western Townships, which was the original description of the area.

For visiting and booking details, please call or WhatsApp Robert on:

Soweto Tour, Johannesburg, South Africa

• Duration: HALF DAY or FULL DAY
• When: ANY DAY, Monday to Sunday
• Departs from: All hotels, B&Bs, guesthouses, private homes, offices, ORT Airport
• Time: 08h00–17h00 or to suit your preference
• Vehicle Type: Luxury car/air-conditioned microbus

Itinerary

This morning or afternoon tour begins with a short drive through Johannesburg into Soweto, the largest township in South Africa. We then pass the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, one of the biggest in the world, and the huge taxi rank on the opposite side of old Potchefstroom Road. Onto explore a nearby informal settlement (squatter camp) where you will have a chance to talk to the locals and buy curios. On the right are the famous Cooling Towers with striking murals and Vista University on the left.

We then stop at the Hector Peterson Memorial, the museum commemorating the first fatality by police in the June 1976 Soweto uprising. Nearby is the unique Vilkazi Street, on which stand the houses of Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, both recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize. A tour of Mandela’s house follows. We then visit the famous Regina Mundi Church, where Sowetans were able to hide in safety from the police during the struggle period. This massive church is one of eighteen Catholic churches in Soweto and contains the famous Black Madonna and beautiful stained glass windows donated by the First Lady of Poland.

The tour ends by returning to your departure point via interesting parts of the northern suburbs of Johannesburg.

 Tour Prices

(private, individual tours, tailored to your requirements.)

Please WhatsApp Robert for prices on:

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NB All prices exclude entrance fees & lunch

Tour Excludes:

• Refreshments
• Lunch
• Optional tips/gratuities for driver

Option:

INCLUDE GOLD REEF CITY (additional half day) The visit to a reconstructed replica of Johannesburg’s early days of 1886, when pioneers won and lost fortunes overnight. Descend 200 meters down a real mine shaft and watch gold being poured!

*Passengers travel subject to our Standard Conditions of Carriage.