Makhanda, also known as Grahamstown, is a town located in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It serves as the largest town within the Makana Local Municipality and functions as its municipal council seat. The town has a population of approximately 75,000 people and is situated about 125 kilometres northeast of Gqeberha and 160 kilometres southwest of East London.
The town hosts several significant institutions, including Rhodes University, the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court, the South African Library for the Blind (SALB), a diocese of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, and 6 South African Infantry Battalion. Additionally, the area is home to Waterloo Farm, located about 3 kilometres southeast of the town. This site is notable as the only estuarine fossil site in the world from 360 million years ago featuring exceptional soft-tissue preservation.