Exploring Soweto's abandoned gold mines and deep-rooted folk beliefs

Hikers descending from the top of a mine dump during a guided hike of the Ndofaya trail in Soweto, South Africa. Photo: AFP

Soweto is full of gritty urban landscapes and alleys which evoke its history as one of apartheid’s battlegrounds.

Yet there is also a gentler, folksier side to the vast Johannesburg township, and one that local entrepreneurs are portraying to curious tourists.