Mbabane

Mbabane is the administrative capital of Eswatini, in the Mdimba Mountains of the highveld in the northwest of the country. Lobamba, in the valley to the south, is the royal and legislative capital.

The town took its name from Mbabane Kunene, a chief who lived in the area when the British arrived. The British set up their administration for the Swaziland protectorate on the site in 1902, because the cool climate of the hills suited them better than the lowveld. Mbabane grew slowly as a government town, and it stayed the capital when Eswatini became independent in 1968. The main road from Johannesburg to Mozambique passes through the city. Gold and tin were mined in the hills around it in the late 19th century, at Forbes Reef to the north and elsewhere.

Most of the factories of the country lie in Matsapha, an industrial town on the road south of the city. Ngwenya Glass, at the border west of Mbabane, makes glass figures of animals from recycled bottles. Crafts such as woven baskets, carvings and candles are sold in the Mbabane market and along the road to the valley.

Sibebe Rock, a huge granite dome north of the city, is climbed by walkers for its views over the hills. The Ezulwini Valley, between Mbabane and Lobamba, holds the Mantenga Cultural Village, with a reconstructed Swazi homestead and dances. Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary, in the same valley, keeps zebras, antelopes and hippos on old farmland. Each year the Umhlanga reed dance brings thousands of young women to the royal village at Lobamba to present reeds to the queen mother.