The area on which Khayelitsha Township in Cape Town South Africa is built is surrounded by sand dunes and patches of indigenous fynbos. When Cape Town's notoriously enraged Cape Doctor - the predominant South Easter wind - blows in summer, Khayelitsha township often finds itself covered by a cloud of sand.

The name Khayelitsha means "our new home" in Xhosa. The Cape Town township was established in the 1980's (during the Apartheid years) when the group areas act prohibited black people from living in the city, and many were moved to Khayelitsha.

Apart from business centres developing and Khayelitsha being a rapidly developing suburb of Cape Town, Khayelitsha's tourism industry has also been booming in the last couple of years and, with private initiatives and help from the government, many houses, schools and a shopping centre have been built.

The Lookout Hill Tourist Centre recently opened in the centre of Khayelitsha and we selected some quality township tours done by excellent township tour opersators. (ask them to stop at Kefu to go for a drink and dance!). It also features Oliver Tambo Hall which plays an important part in U-Carmen eKhayelitsha , the incredible award-winning opera based on Bizet's Carmen, which was shot in Khayelitsha.

CapeTownMagazine.com has selected some of the best township tour that you can book with our central reservation number +27(0)78-686 7505 in Cape Town.

Travellers seeking a more engaging township experience can stay in a township B&B with a local family - eating indigenous South African dishes and paying a visit to a township shebeen such as Poppie's in Graceland for a quart of Black Label or two. It' s close to the warm and excellent Malebo's Bed & Breakfast in Khayelitsha as well, so no excuses.

Other great Township Bed & Breakfasts in Cape Town's Khayelitsha are Kopanong B&B and Vicky's Bed & Breakfast.