Eshowe

Eshowe is a small town in Zululand with a long history. It is the oldest town of European settlement in the Zululand region. Its name is thought to have been inspired by the sound of wind blowing through the forest by which it is surrounded.

It became King Cetshwayo’s headquarters when he built a kraal at the site in 1860. Later, it would become the capital of the Zululand region. It houses the Zululand Historical Museum and also forms part of the famous Battlefields route in Kwazulu-Natal. Today Eshowe is a market town, with two shopping centres, a main bus station serving the hinterland, a major hospital, and several schools.

It is surrounded by the 200 ha indigenous Dhlinza Forest. Interestingly, Eshowe is home to the only aerial boardwalk through the forest canopy, the only one of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. It is also home to a number of nature reserves, and the Vukani Zulu Cultural Museum. It is close to the Ithala Game Reserve, the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve and the iSimangaliso Wetland Park.

Getting there: from Durban, take the N2 going north. Turn off onto the R66 toward Eshowe.