Welcome to Kruger National Park

The world-renowned Kruger National Park offers a wildlife experience that ranks with the best in Africa.  Established in 1898 to protect the wildlife of the South African Lowveld, this national park of nearly 2 million hectares, is unrivalled in the diversity of its life forms and a world leader in advanced environmental management techniques and policies.

The Kruger National Park, situated in the North-east corner of South Africa, has a proud history of nurturing biodiversity that is deeply interwoven with a rich legacy of cultural diversity stretching back more than a million years. In years gone by, early hunter-gatherers, traders, explorers and farmers passed through the area, encountering similar wildlife and vegetation to that which tourists treasure today. At least 147 mammal species, 507 birds, 336 trees, 114 reptiles, 49 fish, and 34 amphibians have been recorded in Kruger, which is about 20,000 sq km – the size of Wales.

Early history

Stone tools dating back 1.5 million years have been found in the Park, and other archeological evidence shows that San hunter-gatherers utilized the region about 40,000 years ago. Around 200 AD, generally considered as the start of the Iron Age in southern Africa, cattle herders and farmers began moving into the area. Pottery and metal artifacts from at least 12 different cultural groups have been identified. 

Trade

Between 900 and 1300 AD, an important period in the cultural development of the region was the growth of complex political culture. The rock-walled settlements of Thulamela and Matekevhele in Kruger formed part of a chain of communities involved in barter with Muslim traders from Africa’s east coast.  These settlements developed in conjunction with the expansion of the famous Mapungubwe centre of culture near the border now shared by South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe.

Colonial times

Settlement and trade increased slowly for the next several hundred years, but major changes began to come about with the arrival of European settlers and the introduction of firearms. By mid-19th Century, European explores, hunters and potential settlers visited the area, bringing about dramatic political change and taking heavy toll on wildlife.

Establishment of the Park

By the end of the 19th Century, much game of the region had been whipped out by uncontrolled hunting, and the Sabi Game Reserve (1898) and Singwitsi Game Reserve (1903) were proclaimed in an attempt to slow the slaughter.  The Kruger National Park was formed in 1926 with the amalgamation of these reserves. While designed to protect wildlife, this also resulted in the forced removal of people from their homes in various areas. Today Kruger, in addition to playing an important conservation role, is seen as a major economic influence in the region, creating jobs, and attracting valuable tourism revenue. 

Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park

Kruger National Park forms part of one of the largest protected areas in Africa – the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park. The creation of the Park, including vast stretches of land in South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, enables wildlife to move freely into new habitats and, once all planning is completed, will give tourists easy access to a huge area of remote wilderness. 

Planners are hard at work creating new tourism infrastructure, taking down fences, relocating game and drafting management principles. Communities neighbouring the Park will also benefit from jobs created. The enlarged Park will allow tourists to experience greater biodiversity and to gain deeper insight into the workings of nature.