Masorini Archaeological Site

Masorini is an Iron Age hill village just inside Kruger’s Phalaborwa Gate, rebuilt so visitors can see how the BaPhalaborwa people mined, smelted and traded iron. It sits beside the tar road to Letaba, which makes it one of the few places in the park where you can leave the car and learn something about the people who lived here before it was a reserve. It fits neatly into the drive to Letaba.

What to expect

At the foot of the hill are a small site museum and a picnic area. From there a guide leads you up to the reconstructed huts and furnaces. Smelting happened in dome-shaped clay furnaces fed by clay pipes and skin bellows, and the resulting iron was beaten into spearheads, arrowheads and hoes. The huts were rebuilt on their original floors, with low doorways that make you stoop, a defensive design. Guides also explain why women were kept away from the smelting area. The people of Masorini traded their metalwork with the Venda to the north and with Portuguese traders on the coast.

Practical details

• Location: on the road from Phalaborwa Gate to Letaba, about 11 km to 12 km from the gate and roughly 40 km from Letaba.
• The hilltop is visited with a guide.
• Phalaborwa Gate is the closest entrance.

Good to know

Sources date occupation differently: one guide puts Northern Sotho smelters here from about 1300 to the late 1800s, while others focus on the 1800s. Restoration began in 1973, and local BaPhalaborwa community members have since renovated the huts. Tour times can change, so ask at Phalaborwa Gate before you set off.

Last updated 6 October 2026. Sources: South African History Online, Roxanne Reid, Africa Addict, krugerpark.co.za, Cultural Heritage Sites.