East London Hotels

Introducing East London

East London, sometimes referred to as Buffalo City, is a city on the southeast coast of South Africa.  
East London is located in the Buffalo City Local Municipality in the Amatole District of the Eastern Cape Province.  
The city of East London in South Africa nestles on the Indian Ocean coast between the Buffalo River and the Nahoon River.  
It is South Africa's only river port. East London today has a population of over 400,000, with over 1.4 million in the metropolitan area.

The city of East London, South Africa, was formed around the only river port and was originally known as Port Rex.
This settlement on the West Bank was the centre of the town of East London, which was later elevated to city status in 1914.  During the early to mid-1800 frontier wars between the British settlers and the local Xhosa inhabitants, East London served as a supply port to service the military headquarters at nearby King William’s Town, about thirty miles away. A British fort, Fort Glamorgan, was built on the West Bank in 1847, and annexed to the Cape Colony that same year. This fort was one of a series of forts the British built, that included Fort Murray, Fort White, Fort Hare and Fort Beaufort, in the border area that became known as British Kaffraria.

With later development of the port in East London came the settlement of permanent residents, including German settlers, most of whom were bachelors.
These settlers were responsible for the German names of a number of towns in the vicinity of East London, such as Stutterheim and Berlin. Today, German surnames such as Gehring, Salzwedel and Peinke are still common in East London, but the descendants of the settlers rapidly became Anglicized.

The existing port, in the mouth of the Buffalo River, adjoining the Indian Ocean, has been operating since 1870.
The advent of the railway on the east bank in 1876 added momentum to ongoing development of the area into today’s thriving city of East London.

The unique double-decker bridge over the Buffalo River in East London was completed in 1935 and to this day, is the only bridge of its type in South Africa. Modern day attractions include the East London Museum housing the coelacanth, a prehistoric fish, thought to be extinct, discovered live there by fishermen in 1938, and numerous memorial statues. East London is well-known as a surfing mecca, and its beaches are among the best in South Africa.