Here’s the latest answer based on current information: Zulu (1964) was filmed primarily in South Africa, with location work in the Drakensberg mountain area, KwaZulu-Natal, including the Royal Natal/Drakensberg Amphitheatre region near the Tugela River, rather than at the real Rorke’s Drift. Key filming sites included the Drakensberg Mountains and Natal Midlands, as well as the Tugela River area where a British field hospital and supply depot scenes were shot. This production used South African locations due to the story’s setting around the Battle of Rorke’s Drift.[1][2][4]
Notes:
- The production used several South African sites to represent Rorke’s Drift, with filming taking place in 1963 over about four weeks.[2]
- Contemporary guides and location databases consistently identify the Royal Natal National Park/Drakensberg amphitheatre area as the main exterior backdrop for the film.[4][6]
If you’d like, I can pull up a concise map of these locations or identify exact coordinates and thematic locations (e.g., where specific scenes were shot) to help plan a visit or study. I can also fetch primary sources or film-location guides for precise shot-by-shot location details.[1][2][4]
Sources
To Be Shot In Kwazulu Natal, South Africa and the UK … We shall also explore the shooting of this film under Apartheid conditions which existed in South Africa at the time. At the heart of Zulu and the Zulus is 26 minutes of never-seen before “making of’ footage”. The original 16mm silent footage has been painstakingly restored in a top post-production house in London. This unique footage, not only features the film’s ‘famous’ cast and crew on set, it also includes the building of key sets in...
zuluandthezulus.comZulu: Directed by Cy Endfield. With Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth. Outnumbered British soldiers do battle with Zulu warriors at Rorke's Drift.
www.imdb.comZulu (1964) - Tugela River, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
www.imdb.comTravel guide to filming locations for Zulu (1964), in South Africa.
movie-locations.comTaylor Downing reviews the classic war film Zulu.
the-past.com