The Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site is a remarkable 47 000 hectare destination with a rich and fascinating history told through the ancient fossils that have been found here.
 
 The Cradle of Humankind, encompassing the region of Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Kromdraai and environs, has one of the world's richest concentrations of hominid fossils, evidence of human evolution over the last 3.5-million years. The fossil sites cover an area of 47 000 hectares. The remains of ancient forms of animals, plants and hominids - our early ancestors and their relatives - are captured in a bed of dolomite deposited around 2.5-billion years ago.
 
 Although other sites in south and east Africa have similar remains, the Cradle has produced more than 950 hominid fossil specimens.
 
 Maropeng, Setswana for "the place where we once lived", is a state-of-the-art visitors' centre designed to help tourists explore the rich fossil heritage of the area. It is a short drive from both Johannesburg and Pretoria and only 10 kilometres from the remarkable Sterkfontein Caves in the Cradle of Humankind world heritage site.
 
 Cramming more than four million years of human history into a single day is challenging but Maropeng is an excellent place to set the stage for this. When guests enter the Tumulus they are led down a walkway through the history of the earth. A boat ride takes them back through the primordial elements of earth, air, fire and water then a continental history takes them from Gondwanaland to the present day.
 
 Maropeng's interpretation centre lies on the side of a hill, where ancient rocky outcrops will mark the setting of a huge tear-shaped burial mound, referred to as the Tumulus: a partly disguised grassy mound 20m high and 35m wide. The first of its kind in the world, the Tumulus is designed to look like an ancient burial mound from the front and, when exiting on the other side, a very modern structure from the rear. The architecture aims to symbolise the journey through time from our ancient origins to today.
 
 From Maropeng, it’s just under 10km to Sterkfontein, the Mecca for anyone with an interest in fossil discoveries. It was here that Dr Robert Broom and John Robinson blasted the legendary Mrs Ples from the rocks in 1947. The visit begins at the compact interpretation centre followed by a guided tour through the caves.
 
 Sterkfontein presents the origins of human culture, particularly through the display of the progressive development of stone tools. Beliefs of various living cultural groups relating to origins are also presented.
 
 The Wonder Cave, on the property of the nearby Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve, contains one of the largest chambers in the country, as well as stalactite, stalagmites and other cave formations. The Wonder Cave is one of the most beautiful and well preserved caves in Gauteng open to the public and is also a registered fossil site.
 
 At Maropeng visitors will also find restaurants, a luxury boutique hotel with views over a private game farm, retail food outlets, destination retail store, arts and crafts marketplace, an observation deck and ample parking for cars and coaches.
 
 Contact Details
 Tel: +27 (0) 14 577 9000; info@maropeng.co.za
 
 Directions
 Maropeng is situated just off the R563 Hekpoort road.
 Sterkfontein Caves is situated on the Sterkfontein Caves Road off the R563 approximately 10km from Maropeng.
 Coordinates: S 25.98521; E 27.66632