TRAVEL:
Visitors to South Africa tend to favor Cape Town and Johannesburg, often overlooking the coastal city of Durban. But the country’s third-largest city shouldn’t be omitted. One local has an interesting take on this. “If South Africa were Destiny’s Child, Durban would be Michelle (Williams), but we think it can be the Beyoncé one day,” says Andrew Rall, before taking a swig of his Durban Dry Gin distilled with locally sourced botanicals like African rose hip.
We’re sitting in Rall’s restaurant, Distillery 031, a buzzy bar tucked inside the city’s Station Precinct district. This area of Durban feels a lot like Brooklyn — chic warehouse spaces peppered with clutches of craft coffee cafés and vintage clothing shops.
The city filled with plenty of gritty charm, culture, and natural beauty, when explored properly, hits all the right notes.
Upon arrival, familiarize yourself with the local Zulu culture in the Valley of a Thousand Hills, which lies between the cities of Pietermaritzburg and Durban. It’s a full-day trip about 40 minutes west of Durban’s city center.
Tour the traditional villages that dot the leafy-green landscape of the Kloof region, meet a traditional “sagoma” or spiritual healer, and bicycle your way through the mountains or hike the lush green hillsides.
Durban is home to the largest concentration of people of Indian descent outside of India. Spend another day in awe of how Durban manages to simultaneously capture the collective energy of both African and Indian culture by taking a morning walk along “The Golden Mile,” a popular beach promenade and surf haven. While there, be sure to sample Bunny Chow, a South African fast food made of a hollowed-out loaf of bread filled with curry, which originated with the Durban Indian community.
Spend the rest of the afternoon at Victoria Street Market (thevsm.co.za), where you’ll find Indian and African-inspired beads, pashminas, spices, fresh fruit, ceramics and more. For extra thrills, ask a guide to take you to the Victoria Street Medicinal Market, where you can