With a great weather condition, amazing and incredible beaches running along the edge of the city and some wonderful tropical condition, Durban is one of the finest holiday and tourism destinations in South Africa and Africa as a whole.
The third-largest city in South Africa has over the decades grown to become the face of South Africa’s tourism, raking in millions of dollars from tourism revenues every year, enabling the city to continue offering incredible tourism services to travelers.
After all is said and done, you may be asking ‘so where and where can I possibly visit in Durban’. Well, that is exactly what this article seeks to talk about as we discuss the top five attractions and places to visit the famed city called Durban.
Golden Mile
The Durban Golden Mile is an incredible beachfront running along the edge of the city, at its meeting point with the sea. Generally regarded by many as the most beautiful beach in Africa, the beach area has amazing high-rise hotel buildings, luxurious shopping malls, high-class residential buildings and some wonderful entertainment centres like nightclubs and pubs, making it look like a replica of the famous Miami Beach in the States. Over the decades, the legendary beach has attracted millions of people from near and afar with the average annual visitor population crossing over a million people, who mostly come to spend their holidays there. On a typical day at the beach, tourists engage in activities like swimming, sunbathing, jet skiing and surfing while some also stay on the shores to play volleyball and enjoy sunbathing in the sun. For travelers visiting South Africa, precisely Durban it would be a great disservice to oneself to travel all the way to the rainbow nation and not visit the legendary and incredible Golden Mile, Africa’s own version of Miami Beach as some jokingly describe it.
Durban Botanic Garden
The Durban Botanic Garden is arguably the most iconic garden in Africa, having a history that dates as far back as the 19th century. The garden was established in 1849 and is officially recognized as the first and oldest botanical garden on the continent. Located on the Berea Hills, north of the city of Durban, the garden boasts of a collection of rare and wonderful plant species, most of which can hardly be found in any part of the world. Some of these rare plants including orchids, cycads, palms and bromeliads are spread throughout the garden and visitors can see them while taking a stroll through the facility. Aside its plant and flower species, Durban Botanic Garden is also home to about fifty species of birds. For the lovers of plant, flower and botanies, the Durban Botanic Garden is a must-visit if you are visiting Durban or reside in Durban.
uShaka Marine World
Another incredible and must-visit attraction in Durban is the uShaka Marine World Park. The facility which was first opened in 2004 is a water theme park featuring the fifth largest aquarium in the world and the largest of its kind on the African continent. The park has been divided into eight sections which include uShaka Wet ‘n Wild, Ushaka Sea World, uShaka Beach, uShaka Kids World, uShaka Dangerous Creatures, and uShaka Village Walk. All these various sections of the park have different attractions and features giving the park a diverse and unique appearance, which makes it stand out among water theme parks in the world. For instance, the uShaka Village Walk section is built and designed to look like a small African village and is purposely meant to accommodate restaurants, cafes and shopping centres while the uShaka Dangerous Creatures serves as an action-packed adventure section where visitors come up close with some of the rarest reptiles and creatures of the sea such as the Tree Vipers, Dart Frogs, Tarantulas and Bearded Lizards.
Moses Mabhida Stadium
If you love sports, especially the beautiful game of football, you definitely should consider visiting the iconic Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, along the Golden Mile. The stadium hosted eight games during the historic 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the first-ever world cup hosted on the continent and has since then become host to major sporting events and activities like cricket, motosports and rugby. Tourists who visit the stadium can opt to take a trip to the very top of the stadium in the sky car or preferably climb the 500 steps which also lead to the top of the stadium. Once at the top, tourists can see the entire landscape and view of Durban, giving one a thrilling feeling. There are also shops in and around the stadium where tourists can purchase a few sporting merchandise of their favourite teams and players.
Umgeni River Bird Park
If you are a lover and admirer of birds, then the Umgeni Bird Park is a place you cannot leave out and touring or visiting attractions in Durban. The park which is located on the north bank of the Umgeni River in Durban boasts of more than 200 different species of colourful birds that bright up the park. What is more interesting and unique, some of these birds can only be found in the Umgeni River park and nowhere else on the African continent, making it the prime birds park in Africa. Other attractions in the park include a small waterfall and the popular bird show which the birds put on to entertain visiting tourists. Funny, right? Well you definitely need to visit and enjoy this bird show as you won’t get it anywhere else in the world.
Durban is a leading city in the African tourism world and one that continues to break boundaries, push itself to the limit and further develop its tourism sector. The above-discussed attractions represent the face of Durban tourism but are only a tip of the iceberg, considering the hundreds of beautiful attractions the city boasts of. So start saving, start preparing and visit this wonderful city when you are fully set.
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