Why you should stay a night in Johannesburg's Soweto

Often associated with crime and poverty, the township offers a wealth of culture, history and food

- Annabel Grossman

Most days in Soweto you will see tourist buses rolling through the streets. People peer out of the windows at local neighbourhoods, stop off to visit Nelson Mandela's home, and possibly browse a few stalls on Vilakazi Street. And it’s no wonder the visitors keep coming. This township in Johannesburg, home to roughly a third of the population of the city, holds huge cultural and historical significance. Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Walter Sisulu and Zeph Mothopeng all lived here.

It was where South Africa’s Freedom Charter was signed in 1955; it helped foster the Black Consciousness Movement in the 1970s; and was the site of the bloody Soweto uprising in 1976, a major turning point in the fight against apartheid.

But after an hour or two, most of which is confined to the inside of a bus, these tourists will leave the suburbs and trundle back to Johannesburg city - then likely head out to Kruger National Park for a safari, perhaps fly down to Durban for a beach break, or maybe make their way to Cape Town to drive out to the beautiful Winelands.

Far fewer travellers will spend a full day in the township, and take the time to walk the streets, meet the communities that have grown here and dine at the restaurants where locals eat their meals. Fewer still will decide to stay a night. But to do so is to miss the heart and soul of Soweto. This is why Lebo’s Backpackers decided to do things differently. Set up roughly 15 years ago by Lebo Malepa, who had grown up in Soweto and wanted to encourage a type of tourism that was beneficial to the community, the guest house allows visitors to stay within the township and experience the culture of Soweto while mingling with locals and learning about day-to-day life.