Apartheid’s legacy bequeathed the township of Alexandra to its wealthy sister, Sandton, and the two couldn't be more contrasting. Alex, as it is known, may be a historical anomaly but it’s also home to thousands of people and expresses the city’s diversity and income gap in a few square kilometres. Here you’ll find informal shacks precipitously clinging to the Jukskei River banks, housing entire families in a single room, adjacent to the modest East Bank suburban housing developments. Culturally in the shadow of Soweto, Alex is starting to wake up to its potential as a tourist destination.

To visit the area it is best to arrange a tour with an experienced guide.