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Umtata Information Guide

Mthatha (formerly Umtata) is the main town of the King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality in Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The town has an airport, previously known by the name K D Matanzima Airport after former leader Kaiser Matanzima. It was a military post for the colonial forces in 1882, and the town itself was founded in 1883, along the banks of the Mthatha River. The Mthatha Dam was constructed about eight kilometre upstream of the town. Mthatha became the leading administrative centre of the area, having both an Anglican and Catholic cathedral. It also became the seat of the traditional authorities and a parliament building for this purpose known as the Bunga, was erected. A branch of the University of Fort Hare was established in the town, and after the "independence" of the Transkei in 1977 it became the University of Transkei, which has since been integrated into the Walter Sisulu University for Technology and Science. The campus was the base for the region's first community radio station, UCRFM, which started in 1996 and has become a significant community broadcaster.

Mthatha is the home of one of the three Nelson Mandela Museums. Spread across three sites, it collects, interprets and exhibits key aspects of the story of the life and times of Nelson Mandela in context. The three historical sites of the museum are all in the locality at Mvezo, Qunu and the Bunga Building in Mthatha itself. In the Bunga Building is the story of the Long Walk to Freedom and an exhibition of the many gifts received by Nelson Mandela on behalf of the South African people.Umtata is Madiba country. Renowned as the world’s most loved ex-convict, (Nelson Mandela) this former statesman was born in the nearby town of Mvezo, spent his childhood in Qunu and today the main buildings of the Nelson Mandela Museum are in Umtata.

On the banks of the Mtata River - named after the Sneezewood (umtati) trees, famous for their wood and medicinal properties - Umtata was founded in 1879 and was originally the capital of the Transkei, homeland of the Xhosa during the Apartheid era. Transkei now forms part of the Eastern Cape and Umtata is still the centre of the region. This part of the country remains seeped in the old traditions and women still wear ochre-coloured dresses with turbans, wire bracelets and white clay on their faces and bodies. Young boys still observe the coming-of-age ceremony called Khwetha and women carry jars of water on their heads. Domestic animals dawdle along the road sides.

Umtata is in the heart of the Nelson Mandela Route, established to give structure to the area for visitors who want to explore his history. The route starts in King Williams Town, where one can visit the grave of Steve Biko - leader of the Black Consciousness movement. The route then moves through Bisho along the N2 to Umtata and the Nelson Mandela Museum, opened 10 years to the day after he was released from prison. The museum is spread over three locations - Umtata, Qunu and Mveso.

Umtata still retains many of its earliest buildings, of the neoclassical style so popular in colonial times, including the Town Hall - a sandstone building completed in 1908. Other activities in the area include the Madiba hiking trail and a visit to the Bunga - a domed building that served as the seat of the Transkei Parliament and is now part of the Nelson Mandela Museum, containing a number of gifts given to him by other countries and nationalities whilst he was president.
The Umtata dam has some lovely picnic spots and is a hive of water sports. There are also a number of nature reserves in the area