South Africa Guide
Gauteng
Soweto
South Africa's most famous township, Soweto (short for South West Townships), is a place of surreal contrasts. The area has the only street in the world where two Nobel Peace Prize winners once lived, yet suffers one of the highest rates of murder and rape in the world; it is the richest township in South Africa, home to a growing number of millionaires, but has some of the most desperate poverty; it is the most political township, yet has the most nihilistic youth.
Southwest of the city centre, Soweto is huge, stretching as far as the eye can see, with a population estimated at between three and four million. Like any city of that size, it is divided into a number of different suburbs, with middle- and upper-class neighbourhoods among them. At first sight, it appears an endless jumble of houses and shacks, overshadowed by palls of smoke, though parts of it have a villagey feel. Apart from the Hector Peterson Memorial and Museum, most of Soweto's tourist highlights are physically unimpressive, their fame stemming from historical associations. That history and the people of Soweto, however, are enthralling, not least because here it is told with a perspective and context rarely found in the rest of South Africa. For visitors it means an insight not just into a place much mentioned in 1980s news bulletins for funerals and fighting, but into a way of life most Westerners rarely encounter.
A visit to Soweto with one of the many tours is the single most popular attraction in Johannesburg. Where once these had a whiff of daring and originality, a well-trodden tourist trail has developed, and unless you're content to follow the herds of minibuses and coaches around the conventional sights, it's well worth using an operator who mixes the highlights with lesser-known sights.
Perhaps the most exciting way to discover Soweto, if you have some time on your hands and fancy learning some Zulu or Sotho, is to be hosted by a Soweto family for a few days or a couple of weeks. You can do this through the TALK Tourism project ( 
011 487 1798, 
www.phaphama.org ) run by an NGO called Phaphama.