Swaziland National Museum — Attraction in Hhohho Region

As a history buff, I'm glad I visited this place! eSwatini has a unique culture and history to showcase, and it deserves a museum that reflects that. From the outset, it's clear that this country seeks to carve its own niche as the small African nation that embraces its own traditions.

Highlights for me included the section on eSwatini’s history and the mannequins dressed for various ceremonies and events. Walking through the village buildings was also worthwhile. Besides the museum complex itself, I also appreciated that my admission had an optional (low-cost) add-on to include a visit to Memorial Park, which was down the road. There, I got a 1-on-1 personalized tour from a trained guide.

That said, the "Africa history" exhibit was underwhelming. It felt overly generic—similar to displays I’ve seen across Africa and even in Western museums that attempt to present African history in broad strokes.

A final note: given that this is the national museum, I was saddened by the poor condition of the taxidermy on display. Many of the animals looked visibly decayed, some even missing body parts. Taxidermy requires upkeep. I hope someone is able to restore and preserve these important educational pieces!

All in all, if you're interested in learning more about eSwatini, I do recommend a visit. It’s not perfect, but it's still a meaningful and...

Great, compact and intimate space. Very affordable. There are very interesting pieces of Swati history, separated into 2 or 4 wings, depending on your outlook, with one strictly dedicated to the natural environment. The others are separated between local art, the built environment, and the human history of the kingdom.

Some exhibitions lead you to places of interest within the Kingdom which is great. However, they still have the same artefacts they had 20 years ago, a bit of modern history would be welcome, also guided tours should be offered to all visitors unless declined by those specific clients.

Some exhibitions would benefit from in-built lighting as well, some areas were just too dark for the eye to accommodate. Lastly, the grounds, would benefit from routine maintenance; the car parking would benefit from carports, and the Swati style huts outside be well maintained (kept clean at all times) and set up in the way that they would have normally been in a household at the time (inside). On my visit there we found plastic, papers, empty beer bottles inside and that does not sit well.

King Sobhuza 11 Memorial park on the other hand was very lovely. Tour was guided, grounds were in impeccable condition and shaded parking space...

It was great to learn about history! I enjoyed the old photos and the history texts. However, the museum is not well kept, and the toilets were disgusting and without toilet paper. In addition, the cultural village has interesting huts, but when you visit them inside, they are full of trash, slippers, cardboard, trash cans, and beer bottles. The entrance fee is way too expensive to warrant a poor...