Wetland ParkPatrimonio Mundial UNESCO

iSimangaliso

South Africa · Southern Africa (KwaZulu-Natal)

Southern Africa (KwaZulu-Natal)Declared in 18953,280 km²

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The first World Heritage Site declared in South Africa after the end of apartheid, in 1999

Area

3,280 km²

Declared in

1895

Region

Southern Africa (KwaZulu-Natal)

Climate

Tropical, Árido / desértico, Templado, Mediterráneo

Best time

May to September

Ocean World Heritage

Plan your visit

Best time: May to September
Area: 3,280 km²

Highlight

The first World Heritage Site declared in South Africa after the end of apartheid, in 1999

With protection going back to 1895, iSimangaliso was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999, the first South African site to be so recognised after apartheid formally ended in 1994 — a symbolic milestone for the country's new democratic environmental policy. It combines South Africa's largest wetland system with beaches, forested dunes among the highest in the world, and coral reefs, in a mosaic of ecosystems rarely brought together in a single protected area.

Location

See on the interactive map

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3 dive sites within 300 km are also shown.

133 species documented in iSimangaliso

27 Mammals22 Birds13 Reptiles5 Amphibians9 Cartilaginous fish27 Fish2 Bivalvia6 Anthozoa2 Arachnida2 Cephalopoda4 Gastropoda5 Malacostraca2 Asteroidea2 Polychaeta1 Turbellaria1 Diplopoda2 Holothuroidea1 Insecta

At conservation risk:Elefante africano,Leopardo,Rinoceronte negro,Tortuga laúd,Alcatraz de El Cabo,Almeja gigante,Anjova,Buitre orejudo,Caballito de mar amarillo,Cálao terrestre sureño,Chucho pintado,Gran tiburón blancoand 9 more