Do you know the Kingdom of Eswatini?

On 19 April 2018, King Mswati III announced that the Kingdom of Swaziland had renamed itself the Kingdom of Eswatini, reflecting the extant Swazi name for the state eSwatini, to mark the 50th anniversary of Swazi independence. (Aljazeera, 2018)

Eswatini is a monarchy and has Mbabane as its capital and  largest city in Eswatini. While for Lobamba is the traditional and legislative capital city of Eswatini.

Eswatini is located in the southern part of Africa. Marking its northeastern border with Mozambique and stretching down to South Africa. The currency used is Swazi lilangeni, 1$= 15.20 Swazi lilangeni and their population is approximated to 1.367 million in 2017.

To enter in the Kingdom of Eswatini you need full passport valid for at least three months is required for entry into Eswatini (formerly Swaziland). For tourist visits, visas are NOT required by citizens of most Commonwealth countries, the USA, Japan, most European Union countries and certain other countries. Tourist or business travellers are allowed to visit Eswatini for up to 30 days. Following this you can apply for a further 30-day extension at the Ministry of Home Affairs. If staying for longer than 60 days, you will need to apply for a Temporary Residence Permit (TRP). (The Kingdom of Eswatini, 2018). When i was in Eswatini, the process of getting a visa was easy and it didn’t take long to get my visa.

When you get in Eswatini there are various places to visit and activities to do in the Kingdom. Here i am going to list the top five places that need to be visited, according to Planet aware.com

• Hlane Royal National Park The Hlane (“Wilderness”) Game Sanctuary is home to the largest herds of game in the country and is one of the few places in Swaziland where visitors have a chance of seeing lion, elephant, and rhino. Birders will also be happy at this 22,000-hectare reserve with a diverse collection of species, including the highest density of breeding white-backed vultures on the continent. Visitors must take a guided game drive to see the lions, which reside in a separate enclosure, but self-guided drives are permitted in other areas of the park. Besides wildlife watching, activities here include guided mountain biking, cultural visits to a nearby Swazi village, birding walks, and overnight fully-catered bush treks. Guests can opt for an evocative electricity-free experience in a campsite or traditional lantern-lit hut, while a second camp offers self-catering stone cottages with modern conveniences. About a 40-minute drive south of Hlane Royal National Park, Mkhaya Nature Reserve was established to protect endangered species, including white and black rhino. The park also protects buffaloes and elephants as well as giraffes, hippos, and many birds. Day visitors are welcome to book guided game drives here with advance notice, while overnight visitors are ensconced in lantern-lit open-sided stone cottages. (Hastings, 2019)

• Mbuluzi Game reserve Privately-owned Mbuluzi Game Reserve offers a peaceful retreat on the banks of the croc-filled Mlawula River. The top activity here is self-guided wildlife safaris to see animals such as giraffe, zebra, kudu, jackal, wildebeest, and nyala during the day and possibly hyena, genets, servals, and honey badgers during the night. Birding is also particularly rewarding with more than 300 species, including the beautiful Narina trogon. Visitors can hike the well-marked web of nature trails, mountain bike along jeep tracks, and cast a line for fish in the two rivers. Accommodation is varied. Options range from riverfront campsites and safari tents to several family lodges. Although the reserve lacks any of the Big Five (leopard, lion, elephant, buffalo, and rhino), guests have free entry to neighboring Mlawula Game Reserve and Hlane Royal National Park, with its white rhino and elephant. (Hastings, 2019)

• Lombaba In the beautiful Ezulwini Valley (the Valley of Heaven), Lobamba is Swaziland’s spiritual and cultural heart. This laid-back town is home to Swaziland’s monarchy as well as its most important buildings. Here, visitors will find the Lobamba Royal Village with the Royal Kraal, the Parliament Building, the National Museum, and other government buildings. In the large Embo State Palace, the king holds audiences, and the magnificent State House, built in 1978, is used mainly for ceremonial and other state occasions, though neither of these buildings is open to the public. However, visitors can tour the Parliament Building. Also in Lobamba, the Somhlolo Stadium is the venue of major cultural and sporting events, state celebrations, concerts, dance performances, and speeches by the king.  (Hastings, 2019)

• Swazi market, Mbabane : Swaziland’s cool-climate capital, is home to the Swazi Market, a must-see for souvenir-starved tourists. It lies at the south end of Allister Miller Street, the town’s main shopping street. The stalls here brim with fresh produce, pottery, handmade baskets, masks, traditional fabrics, soapstone carvings, and beaded jewelry. Particularly interesting is the traditional medicine center, with an impressive array of healing lotions and potions. About an hour’s drive away, shoppers can see more Swazi crafts, including baskets, jewelry, and textiles at Tintsaba Crafts, just past the Piggs Peak Hotel. A pleasant excursion from Mbabane is a trip up beautiful Pine Valley to the north of the town. The route follows the Umbeluzi River, passing a number of waterfalls. This is great walking and riding country, with agreeable temperatures, even in summer (Hastings, 2019)
• Mlilwane Wildlife sanctuary :In the lovely Ezulwini Valley, Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary is one of Swaziland’s first conservation areas and its most popular game reserve. It was established by Ted and Elizabeth Reilly, who turned their farm at Mlilwane into a game reserve with the support of King Sobhuza II. The non-profit Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary has now grown to 4,560 hectares of wilderness surrounded by the Nyonyane (“Place of the Little Bird”) Mountains. Originally animals and plants were introduced to the reserve from far afield, but today, the Mlilwane Sanctuary is home to more than 400 species of birds and many animals, including zebras, vervet monkeys, crocodiles, warthogs, caracals, hippos, and antelopes. The sanctuary offers plenty of activities. The lineup includes game drives, nature walks, mountain biking, horseback rides, a village cultural experience, and swimming in the rest camp’s pool. Accommodation caters to campers and backpackers as well as those seeking a little more comfort with self-contained cottages, traditional Swazi-style beehive huts, and a luxury hilltop lodge. (Hastings, 2019)

Apart from those places to visit the Eswatini kingdom there exist other uniqueness that eswatini have to offer which is the magnificent traditional festivals that the country hosts. Chief amongst these is the Umhlanga (Reed Dance) held in August / September, the Incwala  held in December / January and the Marula Festival in February-March. These are living cultural events that, bar the odd wristwatch and mobile phone, have hardly changed in two hundred years. Visitors are allowed to watch, but the ceremonies make no concession to tourism; even the precise dates are not published in advance, being dependent on the vagaries of ancestral astrology. The main events happen at the royal parade grounds at Ludzidzini or other royal residences, but the mood of celebration sweeps the nation, and visitors to the country around the time of the events will doubtless see wandering bands of warriors or maidens decked out in full regalia as they head to or from the festivities. (The Kingdom of Eswatini, 2018)

And if you are worried about the security in Eswatini, it is by-and-large, a safe country in which to travel. It does not have the same level of the crime rate of the neighboring countries that are in the same region as Eswatini

To conclude Eswatini (Swaziland) is one of the best place and if you do so you will be having no regrets as you will have experienced a real Eswatini experience.

Before logging off check this beautiful video of The beautiful Eswatini http://A video on tourism of swaziland https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qF3Blsouix4

Bibliography

Hastings, k. (2019). 10 Top-Rated Tourist Attractions in Swaziland | PlanetWare. [online] Planetware.com. Available at: https://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions-/swaziland-saf-swz-swz.htm [Accessed 22 Aug. 2019].

The Kingdom of Eswatini. (2019). Visa Guide | The Kingdom of Eswatini (Swaziland). [online] Available at: http://www.thekingdomofeswatini.com/visa-guide/ [Accessed 22 Aug. 2019].

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