Mochudi is what many of Botswana’s big villages looked like before tin roofs and breeze blocks arrived — and enough of it survives to make the 40 km drive north from Gaborone worthwhile. The Bakgatla-ba-Kgafela settled here in 1871, having moved from the Transvaal, and built their capital around a rocky hill above the Notwane River. It is still the seat of the Bakgatla paramount chief.
The landmark is the Phuthadikobo Museum, on top of the hill. The building, with its Cape Dutch gables, was put up between 1921 and 1923 as the Bakgatla National School by the community’s own age-regiments under the regent Isang Pilane — reputedly carrying the materials up the hill by hand. It became a museum in 1976.
Top things to do: Mochudi & Phuthadikobo Museum
Visit the Phuthadikobo Museum
Displays cover Bakgatla history, initiation and rain-making traditions, household objects and a remarkable set of early twentieth-century photographs, many taken by the anthropologist Isaac Schapera, who worked here for decades. The museum has also run a screen-printing workshop selling textiles. Opening hours can be irregular — phone ahead if you can.
Take in the view
From the museum terrace you look down over the whole town, the river and the plains towards the South African border. It is one of the best viewpoints in the south-east.
See the kgotla and the royal graves
At the foot of the hill is the main kgotla, the traditional court and meeting place, with the royal cattle kraal where Bakgatla chiefs are buried. This is a living institution: ask permission before entering, and dress respectfully.
Look for painted homesteads
Around the old centre you can still find traditional compounds with low courtyard walls (lolwapa) decorated in earth-coloured patterns, a Bakgatla speciality.
How to get to Mochudi & Phuthadikobo Museum
- By car: take the A1 north for about 35 km to Pilane, then turn east; Mochudi is 6–7 km further. Follow signs to the museum and drive (or walk) up the hill. About 45 minutes from Gaborone.
- By bus: frequent buses and combis run from Gaborone’s main bus rank to Mochudi in under an hour. From the Mochudi rank take a local taxi to the museum.
- With a guide: village tours from Gaborone can include Mochudi, often together with Matsieng and Oodi.
Insider tips
- Weekdays are the safest bet for finding the museum open; it has generally been closed on Sundays and public holidays.
- The last stretch up the hill is steep and rocky — fine for a normal car driven slowly, or a ten-minute walk.
- Combine Mochudi, Matsieng and Oodi in one loop north of the city.
- Greet people — “Dumela rra” to a man, “Dumela mma” to a woman — before asking anything. It matters here.
Best tours: Mochudi & Phuthadikobo Museum
These top-rated experiences are the easiest way to see Mochudi & Phuthadikobo Museum:
Day trip from €240 Art & Craft Tour: Villages around Gaborone
A day in the villages that ring Gaborone, where much of the country’s weaving and pottery is actually made. You visit four of them, watch the craftspeople at work, have the chance to buy direct and eat lunch at a local restaurant. It is the easy way to reach places such as Oodi without hiring a car.
- Four craft villages around the capital
- Meet weavers and potters and buy direct
- Lunch at a local restaurant
Two-day tour from €195 Multi-Day Tour from Gaborone: 2-Day City + Village Experience
A two-day programme combining the capital with village Botswana: the city tour first, then Manyana with its rock paintings and Livingstone connections, and — depending on the day — a game drive. A good choice if you prefer culture and history to a second day of wildlife.
- City tour on the first day
- Manyana village and its rock paintings
- A game drive where time allows
