Joburg's Top 5 Green Spaces 

Though Johannesburg has a reputation as a dusty concrete jungle, few realize that it’s actually one of the largest urban forests in the world, with over 10 million trees. In addition to numerous leafy neighborhoods sandwiched between blocks of skyscrapers, there are hundreds of parks, reserves and gardens scattered throughout the city.

Take yourself to one of these green spaces on your next visit to Joburg, if only to remind yourself that the area was once a vast, empty grassland before becoming the richest (and most built-up) cities in Africa.

1. Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve

This beautiful 680-hectare (1680-acre) nature reserve sits about 12 km (20 miles) south of Johannesburg city center and is a haven for nature lovers. Six hiking trails wind through the hills, and visitors can see 215 bird species, plus zebras, red hartebeest, black wildebeest and springbok. Open to the public from sunrise to sunset seven days a week; no entrance fee.

2. Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden

This botanical garden is located near Krugersdorp, which is about 29 km (18 miles) west of Johannesburg. It has been a popular venue for outings since the 1800s, and was voted “the best place to get back to nature” in Gauteng for nine years in a row. The natural vegetation of the area is known as “rocky highveld grassland” and consists of a mosaic of grassland and savanna, with dense bush in kloofs and along streams. The variety of habitats accommodate over 600 naturally occurring plant species and 120 bird species, including the only pair of nesting Verreaux’s (black) eagles in Johannesburg. Open every day from 8am-5pm; entrance fee for adults is R35.

3. Johannesburg Botanical Garden and Emmarentia Dam

Johannesburg Botanical Garden contains a mix of indigenous and exotic plants surrounded by lawns that overlook the 7.5-hectare Emmarentia Dam, which dates back to the turn of the century and is popular with canoeists and boaters. Visitors enjoy specialist gardens such as the Shakespeare Garden, the Rose Garden, the Herb Garden, a Hedge Demonstration Garden, and the main arboretum, which houses family groupings of plants and trees of South Africa and the rest of the world. Entrance is free.

4. Melville Koppies

This nature reserve and heritage site in the middle of the western suburb of Melville offers amazing views of Joburg and traces of the past in the form of an Iron Age village and smelting works. Hikes and guided tours are offered every Sunday on Melville Koppies Central, but you can easily visit it on your own (make sure that you don’t walk alone — go with at least one other person, or a big dog). Open every day; free for self-guided visitors, guided tours vary in price.

5. Zoo Lake

Another nature escape can be found at Zoo Lake — its beautiful and expansive grounds are popular with joggers and dog-walkers, and you can even take a row boat out onto the lake. The quirky and colonial Zoo Lake Bowls Club is a great place to grab a really cheap drink and pub grub, while Moyo restaurant is a popular dinner spot. The park hosts annual the Jazz on the Lake and Carols by Candlelight events, and is also the monthly venue for the “Artists under the Sun” open-air art exhibition.