Sterkfontein Caves

The Sterkfontein Caves site is home to a top restaurant, conferencing facilities, easy access to the caves themselves, modern walkways and a boardwalk past the excavation site where world-acclaimed fossils have been discovered.

Get to grips with the magnitude of the past

The Sterkfontein exhibition explains the history of life on Earth through fascinating displays

Visit the exhibition at Sterkfontein before going on a tour of the caves

The Sterkfontein Caves are a window to our past

Bring your class on an exciting trip to Sterkfontein Caves

Dr Robert Broom discovered “Mrs Ples” at Sterkfontein Caves in 1947

Deep in the caves, many fossils lie undiscovered

Go deep into the Sterkfontein Caves and discover the secrets of our past

“Mrs Ples” is the skull of an Australipethecus africanus that is more than 2-million years old

Expert guides explain the history of humanity

The Sterkfontein Caves

An hour’s drive from Johannesburg and Pretoria, the Sterkfontein Caves are world famous for their fossil finds and a well-known visitor destination. After an extensive face-lift in 2005, the Sterkfontein Caves site is home to a top restaurant, conferencing facilities, easy access to the caves themselves, modern walkways and a boardwalk past the excavation site where world-acclaimed fossils have been discovered.

The Sterkfontein Caves are owned by the University of the Witwatersrand, whose scientists have been responsible for the main excavations of the World Heritage Site. They are credited with many of the famous discoveries including the world famous “Mrs Ples” and “Little Foot”, an almost complete Australopithecus skeleton dating back more than 3-million years.

The tours at the Sterkfontein Caves, which start above ground and then take visitors deep into the caves, run every half hour, seven days a week.