Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Macchu Picchu
Peru • 10 days, 9 nights
Peru: Machu Picchu & the Last Incan Bridges
from
Central Asia yurt night stars
Uzbekistan • 15 days, 14 nights
Central Asia Road Trip: Backroads & Bazaars
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Shadow Room
The Museum of Lost Tales
Sherlock Holmes Statue
Sherlock Holmes Statue
South Pole Growth Chamber
Pasties are an Upper Michigan tradition dating back to mining days.
Lehto’s Pasties
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
Pasties are an Upper Michigan tradition dating back to mining days.
Lehto’s Pasties
Stock up on picnic supplies with a side of history.
Horton Bay General Store
Take some of Michigan’s produce home with you.
American Spoon
The local catch is delicious fried as well.
Terry's of Charlevoix
Carlson’s Fishery is a Great Lakes institution.
Carlson’s Fishery
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Here’s which treats you can safely lug home without risking a fine.
Dear Atlas: What International Food Can I Legally Bring Into the U.S.?
about 15 hours ago
Cely’s map is not only accurate, but captures the unique characteristics of Congaree’s trees and waterways.
How One Biologist Drew a Hyper-Accurate, Ranger-Approved Map of Congaree National Park
2 days ago
Though they’re protected inside the park, wolves can be killed when they cross its borders.
Wolves Have a Bad Reputation. One Yellowstone Naturalist Is Trying to Fix It.
2 days ago
The community board at Rex’s Dino Store advertises all kinds of NYC-specific dino services.
We Visited the Dino Bodega in (Jurassic) Park Slope
4 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All South Africa Duiwelskloof Sunland Baobab
Sunland Baobab is permanently closed.

This entry remains in the Atlas as a record of its history, but it is no longer accessible to visitors.

Gastro Obscura

Sunland Baobab

A South African bar inside a hollowed out 6,000-year-old Baobab.

Duiwelskloof, South Africa

Added By
ser flac
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Hollowed out bar inside the Baobab   User submitted
Hollowed out bar inside the Baobab   User submitted
6000-year-old Sunland Baobab   User submitted
Inside South Africans tree bar   User submitted
Bar is destroyed   hugodeon / Atlas Obscura User
  hugodeon / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Sunland Baobab in Limpopo, South Africa, is a one stop shop for finishing off a bucket list.

Physically, the giant tree ranks at the top of many lists. It is one of the largest baobabs in South Africa, and at a whopping 72 feet high and 155 feet around, the widest on the entire continent.

Besides its remarkable dimensions, the baobab is also one of the oldest trees on Earth. According to some estimates, Sunland Baobab is 6,000 years old. While there is some controversy regarding the age, carbon dating has placed the tree easily past the millennium mark, putting Sunland Baobab among the ranks of California's legendary sequoias.

To add to the wonder of the species, Baobabs naturally hollow out after 1,000 years. Sunland may have passed that mark generations ago, and as such has hollowed to such a point that the owners of the land, the van Heerden family, created a small pub inside the space. Amazingly, the rustic bar has 13-foot high ceilings and can comfortably fit 15 people. Mrs. van Heerden even claimed to have once put 40 full-size adults inside for a party.

Visitors wishing to grab a pint inside Sunland can even spend the night in one of five local Jungalows on the property to complete the full safari party experience.

Update: The giant tree trunk split and a third of it collapsed in April, 2016, likely due to its age. It is unclear whether the section with the bar was effected by the collapse. 

Update May 2019: The bar is still open, though it’s run-down and in rather rough shape.

Related Tags

Plants Unique Restaurants & Bars

Know Before You Go

From Johannesburg take the N1 to Polokwane, and just before Polokwane take the R71 to Tzaneen. At the T-junction at the foot of the Magoebaskloof Pass, turn left onto the R36 to Modjadjiskloof and from the town follow the signs to Sunland Baobab, which is a few kilometres further.

Atlas Obscura Adventures

Wild South Africa

Marine wildlife and Kruger Safari

Book Now

Community Contributors

Added By

serflac

Edited By

dantemortem, MagnumPI, aribrown, hugodeon

  • dantemortem
  • MagnumPI
  • aribrown
  • hugodeon

Published

October 7, 2011

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.southafrica.net/sat/content/en/za/full-article?oid=9417&sn=Detail&pid=1
  • http://www.bigbaobab.co.za/baobab.pdf
Sunland Baobab
Unnamed Road
Duiwelskloof
South Africa
-23.621275, 30.198888
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Bourke's Luck Potholes

Ehlanzeni, South Africa

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of South Africa

South Africa

Africa

Places 75
Stories 27

Nearby Places

Bourke's Luck Potholes

Ehlanzeni, South Africa

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of South Africa

South Africa

Africa

Places 75
Stories 27

Related Stories and Lists

10 History-Filled Bars Hiding in Plain Sight

List

By Diana Hubbell

These 23 Trees Have Seen Some Things

List

By Gemma Tarlach

The Oldest Living Things in the World

List

By Meg Neal

10 Bars at the End of the World

essential guide

By Eric Grundhauser

8 Extraordinary Pieces of Architecture Grown From Living Trees

trees

By Eric Grundhauser

The Great Old Ones: In Celebration of Our Tree Elders

forests

By Chris White

Related Places

  • Alnwick, England

    The Treehouse Restaurant at Alnwick Gardens

    This giant wooden treehouse within a sprawling garden has its own eatery.

  • Amphoe Ko Kut, Thailand

    Treepod Restaurant

    Eat like a bird in a bamboo nest.

  • Vienna, Austria

    Palmenhaus

    Dine amidst exotic plants at this former royal greenhouse.

  • The view when you dine within the greenhouse.

    Reykholt, Iceland

    Friðheimar

    Inside this Icelandic greenhouse, geothermal energy keeps tomatoes warm and growing.

  • Visalia, California

    Sequoia Legacy Tree

    Far out of its comfort zone, this sequoia was planted as a symbol of the connection between Visalia and its neighboring national park.

  • Tulare County, California

    Mark Twain Stump

    The last remnant of a tree that helped prove to the world that sequoias are real—and they’re spectacular.

  • The Willow Globe shortly after it was planted

    Llanwrthwl, Wales

    Willow Globe Theatre

    In the middle of a Welsh field, a replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre is made out of living branches.

  • Bamboo

    Kawasaki, Japan

    Edison Bamboo

    The bamboo that helped Thomas Edison develop a longlasting lightbulb.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.