Where to see
Where to see the Jacaranda in South Africa
The jacaranda is from South America, and South Africa has made it its own. The first two in Pretoria were planted in 1888, and the city now has so many that it is called the Jacaranda City: from mid October the streets of Arcadia, Brooklyn and Waterkloof turn purple. Johannesburg’s older northern suburbs, Parkview, Saxonwold, Houghton and Parktown, have whole avenues of them, and so does Harare, where they flower a few weeks earlier, in September and October.
Planning a trip
When and where to find the Jacaranda
The jacaranda is from South America, and South Africa has made it its own.
The best cities
Pretoria
South Africa
The Jacaranda City. The older suburbs, Arcadia, Brooklyn and Waterkloof, are lined with them, and the bloom from mid October is the city at its best.
Stays in PretoriaJohannesburg
South Africa
Whole avenues of them in the older northern suburbs: Parkview, Saxonwold, Houghton and Parktown. Best seen from a rooftop or the Westcliff ridge in late October.
Stays in JohannesburgHarare
Zimbabwe
Jacaranda avenues through the city centre and the older suburbs, flowering in September and October alongside the red spring flush of the msasa woodland outside town.
Stays in HarareBulawayo
Zimbabwe
Wide streets laid out for ox wagons, lined with jacarandas that flower in October.
Lusaka
Zambia
The older avenues of the capital flower in September and October.
Nairobi
Kenya
The city centre and the leafy western suburbs turn purple in October and November, around the short rains.
Questions travellers ask
A record means a host has seen the Jacaranda on the property or nearby. It is never a guarantee of a sighting.
More about the Jacaranda
The jacaranda is from South America, and South Africa has made it its own. The first two in Pretoria were planted in 1888, and the city now has so many that it is called the Jacaranda City: from mid October the streets of Arcadia, Brooklyn and Waterkloof turn purple. Johannesburg’s older northern suburbs, Parkview, Saxonwold, Houghton and Parktown, have whole avenues of them, and so does Harare, where they flower a few weeks earlier, in September and October.
The bloom lasts about a month and ends as the summer rain begins. The best views are from above: a rooftop, a ridge or the Union Buildings gardens in Pretoria.
The jacaranda is a listed invasive alien in South Africa. The trees already lining the cities may stay, but new ones may not be planted, because outside the cities it spreads along rivers and crowds out the trees that belong there.
When do the jacarandas bloom in Pretoria and Johannesburg?
From about mid October to mid November, for roughly a month. Harare flowers a few weeks earlier, in September and October. A cold or late spring can push the bloom back by a week or two.
Which cities have the most jacarandas?
Pretoria, called the Jacaranda City, and Johannesburg’s older northern suburbs in South Africa; Harare and Bulawayo in Zimbabwe; Lusaka in Zambia; and Nairobi in Kenya, where the bloom comes in October and November.
Is the jacaranda indigenous to South Africa?
No. It comes from South America and is a listed invasive alien here: existing city trees may stay, but no new ones may be planted, because it spreads along rivers outside the cities.
Stays that give back
Where to stay for a chance to see the Jacaranda
Every stay on the Jacaranda page lists the species its host has recorded on or near the property. A record is a sighting, never a promise.
See where to stay