Makapansgat Caves

About Makapansgat Caves

Rich in biodiversity, the scenically stunning Makapansgat Valley and Caves play a significant role in the Cradle of Humankind.

The numerous cave system draw palaeontologists from around the globe to view fossils that date back over three million years, revealing the stories of this once tropical paradise.

Our early ancestor, the ‘ape-man’ Austalopithecus africanus, is one of the fascinating finds.

See the oldest site at Makapansgat Limeworks. The Cave of Hearths has evidence of human occupation from the Early Stone Age and the Hyena Cave has remains of early hyenas.

Today vervet monkeys, baboons and bush babies clamber in the treetops, searching for the same edible fruits and plants that early man gathered.

Contact the Arend Dieperink Museum in Mokopane for guided tours of the Makapansgat Caves starting at the museum. +27 015 491 9735