South Africa hosts 8 of the World Heritage Sites and this is not surprising given the spectacular and diverse culture, nature and wildlife that South Africa offers its tourists.
To be included on the World Heritage List, sites must satisfy certain criteria.

Cultural properties for World Heritage Sites should represent a masterpiece of human creative genius. It should bear a unique testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilisation which is living or has disappeared. It should be an outstanding example of a type of architectural or technological ensemble which illustrates significant stages in human history.

Natural properties for World Heritage Sites should be outstanding examples representing major stages of earth's history. Examples representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals. It should contain areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance or contain the most significant natural habitats for threatened species of outstanding universal value.

There are eight World Heritage Sites in South Africa:

Robben Island
For nearly 400 years, Robben Island, 12 kilometres from Cape Town, was a place of banishment, exile, isolation and imprisonment. Robben Island was used at various times between the 17th and 20th centuries as a prison, a hospital for socially unacceptable groups and a military base. It was here that rulers sent those they regarded as political troublemakers, social outcasts and the unwanted of society. Its buildings, particularly those of the late 20th century such as the maximum security prison for political prisoners, witness the triumph of democracy and freedom over oppression and racism.

iSimangaliso Wetland Park (Greater St Lucia)
The Greater St. Lucia Wetlands Park was declared South Africa's first Natural World Heritage Site. It is considered the third largest park in South Africa. It extends from Mapelane (Cape St. Lucia) in the South to Kosi Bay in the North. The Greater St Lucia Wetland Park thus incorporates the entire Lake St Lucia. The park has 280km of near pristine coastline and comprises of 328 000 ha of exquisite scenery. It encompasses a vast mosaic of habitats ranging from marine systems such as coral reefs and beaches to the open estuarine waters of Lake St Lucia itself.

 The Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site
The Sterkfontein Valley landscape in Western Gauteng and North West province comprises a band of important palaeo-anthropological sites. The Cradle of Humankind has produced the remains of hominids (i.e. human and pre-human) from over 2 to 3.3 million years ago.Excavators have produced thousands of fossils and it is estimated that there may be up to 25 more sites in the area worth excavating.

uKhahlamba / Drakensberg Park
The uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park is dominated by sheer cliffs, deeply incised valleys and crystal clear rivers. The uKhahlamba / Drakensberg Park forms an integral focal point of this unique area. The many rivers, wetlands, indigenous forests and the rolling grasslands are home to a diverse range of animals and plants. The uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park is one of the richest rock painting areas in the world. There are about 600 recorded rock art sites in the mountains containing approximately 40 000 individually painted images.

Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape
Mapungubwe is set hard against the northern border of South Africa, joining Zimbabwe and Botswana. It is an open, expansive savannah landscape at the confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe rivers. Mapungubwe developed into the largest kingdom in the sub-continent before it was abandoned in the 14th century. What survives are the almost untouched remains of the palace sites and also the entire settlement area dependent upon them, as well as two earlier capital sites, the whole presenting an unrivalled picture of the development of social and political structures over some 400 years.

Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape
The 160,000 ha Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape of dramatic mountainous desert in north-western South Africa constitutes a cultural landscape communally owned and managed. This site sustains the semi-nomadic pastoral livelihood of the Nama people, reflecting seasonal patterns that may have persisted for as much as two millennia in southern Africa. It is the only area where the Nama still construct portable rush-mat houses (haru om) and includes seasonal migrations and grazing grounds, together with stock posts.

Cape Floral Region Protected Areas
A serial site – in Cape Province, South Africa – made up of eight protected areas, covering 553,000 ha, the Cape Floral Region is one of the richest areas for plants in the world. It represents less than 0.5% of the area of Africa but is home to nearly 20% of the continent’s flora. The site displays outstanding ecological and biological processes associated with the Fynbos vegetation, which is unique to the Cape Floral Region.  

Vredefort Dome
Vredefort Dome, approximately 120 km south-west of Johannesburg, is a representative part of a larger meteorite impact structure, or astrobleme. Dating back 2,023 million years, it is the oldest astrobleme yet found on Earth. With a radius of 190 km, it is also the largest and the most deeply eroded. Vredefort Dome bears witness to the world’s greatest known single energy release event, which had devastating global effects including, according to some scientists, major evolutionary changes.