saam stories
Beyond the walls:
discovering Ponte tower with dlalanje
DlalaNje, Johannesburg
Text & photos: Caroline
Rising above the neighbourhood of Hillbrow, Ponte Tower has been part of Johannesburg’s skyline since 1975. Its distinctive shape makes it instantly recognisable, yet for many people, Ponte remains a place they know more by reputation than by experience. Stories of crime, urban decay and danger have shaped the way the building is perceived for decades.
I wanted to see it for myself. And I wanted to do so with DlalaNje, an organisation that has been inviting people to look at Johannesburg differently since 2012.
A tower unlike any other
Stepping inside Ponte was an experience in itself.
The building is constructed around an enormous hollow core, creating a sense of space that is difficult to grasp at first. Looking up, the tower seems to stretch endlessly towards the sky. The exposed rock at its foundation, the raw concrete and the unusual way daylight filters through the structure give the interior an almost surreal quality.
It is a place that makes you stop and look.
Ponte has also undergone a remarkable transformation over the years. Once associated with neglect and insecurity, it is now a residential building where people live their everyday lives. Behind its imposing exterior are homes, routines and a community that continues to shape the story of the tower.
Delight was my guide here and he tells from his own experience as well. Once participating in the youth classes Dlala Nje provides for children in the neighbourhood, now a guide for the organisation living in Ponte Tower himself.
Challenging perceptions, creating opportunities
DlalaNje was founded in October 2012 with two closely connected ambitions: to challenge perceptions of Johannesburg’s inner city and to create opportunities for the young people growing up there.
The organisation operates as a social enterprise. Its guided tours and other experiences introduce visitors to places that are often misunderstood, while the income generated helps fund its community programmes.
This connection is central to the way DlalaNje works. Visitors get to discover a different side of Johannesburg, and their participation helps sustain opportunities for the next generation.
The organisation runs community spaces where children and young people can learn, play, build friendships and explore their potential. Through activities ranging from homework support and literacy to creative programmes and sport, they are offered a place to grow, discover new interests and experience possibilities beyond their immediate surroundings.
During my visit, Delight showed the spaces where children gather after school. Suddenly, the story of Ponte was no longer only about the building’s past, its architecture or the views from the bottom of the tower to the sky. It was also about the everyday lives of the young people who live in the neighbourhood. A place to spend time after school. A chance to learn something new. A community that makes room for curiosity, friendship and growth.
These things may seem ordinary, but access to safe and supportive spaces can make a real difference.
A different view of Johannesburg
As the tour continued upwards, we reached the upper floors, where DlalaNje also hosts gatherings and events. From here, Johannesburg opens up in every direction.
The view is extraordinary. The city spreads out beneath you, revealing its layers of buildings, neighbourhoods and green spaces. From this height, it is easy to become absorbed in the scale of it all.
Yet the view also brings you back to the reason for being there.
DlalaNje uses tourism to create encounters between people who might otherwise never meet. It invites visitors to explore places they may have avoided, listen to stories they may never have heard and question assumptions they may not even realise they hold.
A guided tour cannot tell you everything about a neighbourhood, and one visit cannot capture the complexity of a city like Johannesburg. But it can offer a starting point: a chance to look again, ask questions and recognise that there is always more to a place than its reputation.
I was struck by the warmth with which I was welcomed throughout the experience. The people behind DlalaNje share their knowledge and their surroundings with a generosity that makes the visit feel personal. You are not simply looking at Ponte from the outside. You are being invited in.
More than a view from the top
Before leaving, I bought Great Johannesburg, a book by Nickolaus Bauer, DlalaNJe’s co-founder. It felt like a fitting way to continue exploring the city’s many stories.
My visit to Ponte left me with a renewed appreciation for the layers that make up Johannesburg. The architecture alone would have made the experience memorable. But what gives it deeper meaning is the work taking place alongside it: the commitment to young people, the creation of opportunities and the belief that changing how people see a place can be part of changing what becomes possible there.
DlalaNJe brings these elements together in a way that feels tangible. Every tour offers a new perspective on Johannesburg while helping support the organisation’s community programmes.
And yes, the view from the top is an absolute bonus.
But what I will remember most is the feeling of being welcomed into a place with so many stories to tell and meeting an organisation that is helping young people write the next chapters of their own.
Read more: Dlala Nje