Indian life in South Africa: food, festivals and entertainment

South Africa is home to 1,800,000 overseas Indians. Here is where to find Indian food, festivals and entertainment there. For the Indian embassy and NRI services, see NRI services in South Africa.

Indian food

Durban has the largest Indian-origin community in South Africa, and its curries are famous; bunny chow, curry served in a hollowed-out loaf, began in Durban. The Victoria Street Market and the streets around it, Durban's old Indian quarter, sell spices and street food. Johannesburg's Fordsburg and the Oriental Plaza are known for Indian food and shops. See Visit Durban. In Chatsworth, Durban, Govinda's at the Hare Krishna temple serves curries, breyani and savouries.

Festivals and heritage

Diwali, Kavadi (Thaipusam) and the Hindu temple festivals of KwaZulu-Natal are celebrated widely. Mahatma Gandhi lived in South Africa from 1893 to 1914: his Phoenix Settlement near Durban and the Pietermaritzburg railway station, where he was put off a train in 1893, are places of pilgrimage.

Overseas Indian figures: Ministry of External Affairs, as of January 2026.