The next must-visit destination might not be a beach, a vineyard or a bustling city square. It could be a cemetery.
Once dismissed as a niche hobby for history enthusiasts, cemetery tourism is attracting curious travellers looking for stories that cannot be found in guidebooks.
Historic burial grounds are becoming places where people wander slowly instead of rushing from one attraction to the next.
They come to admire architecture, trace family histories, learn about famous figures or simply enjoy rare pockets of calm in busy cities.
Far from being gloomy, many of these spaces have become open-air museums where every headstone tells a story and every pathway reveals another chapter of a country's past.
The rise of genealogy websites has helped fuel the trend. As more people research their family trees, many are travelling across countries to find the graves of ancestors. Standing before a headstone offers a connection that no online family record can match.
Others are drawn by the beauty of these spaces. Historic cemeteries often feature striking chapels, towering trees, elaborate sculptures and centuries old stonework that reveal changing styles of art and craftsmanship.
What was once built as a place of remembrance has also become a record of architecture and design.
In crowded cities, they offer something increasingly difficult to find: silence.
While tourists queue for famous landmarks, cemeteries provide space to pause, reflect and escape the noise. They have become green refuges where visitors can slow down while discovering the people who shaped the places around them.
Travel experts also point to another reason for their growing popularity. Many travellers are moving away from predictable itineraries in search of experiences that feel more meaningful. Instead of collecting photographs at crowded attractions, they are seeking places that reveal local history through real lives.
Technology has added another layer to the experience. Visitors now use smartphone apps to identify graves, record epitaphs, share photographs, and map historical discoveries with communities around the world.
What was once a solitary pastime has become a global hobby connecting people through history.
South Africa has no shortage of remarkable cemeteries for travellers willing to look beyond the obvious.
In Johannesburg, Westpark Cemetery is often described as the country's best-known celebrity cemetery. It is the final resting place of jazz legend Hugh Masekela, anti apartheid lawyer George Bizos, activist Nkosi Johnson and photographer Alf Khumalo. Each grave tells part of South Africa's cultural story.
Braamfontein Cemetery offers another journey into the past. Opened in 1888, it traces Johannesburg's gold rush years and includes the grave of Enoch Sontonga, composer of Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika, as well as victims of the Great Dynamite Explosion of 1896.
Pretoria's Heroes' Acre at Church Street Cemetery preserves the graves of figures including Paul Kruger, Andries Pretorius and Harry Breaker Morant, making it one of the country's most historically significant burial grounds.
Avalon Cemetery in Soweto holds more than 300,000 graves and honours anti apartheid leaders including Joe Slovo, Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph and 1976 uprising hero Hector Pieterson.
Cape Town's Maitland Cemetery stretches for more than three kilometres and is known for its Commonwealth War Graves from both World Wars. Nearby, Tana Baru Cemetery on the slopes of Signal Hill remains one of South Africa's most important Muslim heritage sites and is home to the kramat of Tuan Guru.
The Irene Concentration Camp Memorial Cemetery stands as a reminder of the women and children who died during the Anglo-Boer War, while Durban's Brook Street Cemetery sits beside a busy traditional market and includes the Hazrath Badsha Peer Shrine, attracting thousands of pilgrims each year.
Visiting these places comes with responsibility.
Unlike museums, cemeteries remain active places of remembrance where families continue to mourn loved ones. Visitors should research local customs before arriving, respect photography rules, avoid touching monuments and remain on marked paths.
Keeping voices low and treating every grave with dignity ensures that these sites remain places of reflection rather than entertainment.
lutho.pasiya@nationalmg.co.za