Barack Obama and his family have been "deeply humbled" by a visit to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in prison during the apartheid regime.
The US President, his wife Michelle and two daughters Sasha and Malia were guided around the prison by politician Ahmed Kathrada, who was held there with Mr Mandela for nearly two decades.
Mr Obama wrote in a guest book in the courtyard: "On behalf of our family, we're deeply humbled to stand where men of such courage faced down injustice and refused to yield.
The Obama family listen to a prison guide who was an inmate with Mandela "The world is grateful for the heroes of Robben Island, who remind us that no shackles or cells can match the strength of the human spirit."
The prison has been preserved as a tribute to the anti-apartheid icon, who is critically ill in hospital.
The family was also shown Mr Mandela's cell, an expansive quarry where prisoners endured hours of backbreaking work and a guard tower from where Mr Mandela was watched during his incarceration.
Mr Obama commented on the "hard labour" the South African endured and asked the guide to tell his daughters how the African National Congress party got started.
Barack and Michelle Obama tour the Robben Island jail Mr Obama has been to the prison before, when he was a senator in 2006, but wanted to return with his family.
"For me to be able to bring my daughters there and teach them the history of that place and this country ... that's a great privilege and a great honour," said Mr Obama.
After the tour, Mr Obama will deliver the signature speech of his three-nation Africa tour.
South Africa's first black president will be the focus during the address at the University of Cape Town later where Robert F Kennedy gave a speech in 1966 linking the struggles against apartheid and the US civil rights movement.
Barack Obama visiting a prison cell as senator in 2006 Mr Obama will use the platform to cite Mr Mandela's unifying legacy as a blueprint for a new generation in emerging Africa.
Pointing to Africa's crippling lack of electrical power, Mr Obama is also expected to announce a $7bn initiative over five years to double access to power in sub-Saharan Africa.
Mr Mandela's illness placed Mr Obama in a tricky political spot, forcing him to balance his desire to push for a new economic relationship with Africa, with the need to properly honour his hero and "personal inspiration".
On Saturday, Mr Obama called Mr Mandela's wife Graca Machel and privately visited several of his daughters and grandchildren to offer support and prayers.
Nelson Mandela visiting his old prison cell in 1995 But he did not push for a visit to the Pretoria hospital where the 94-year-old is being treated, worried that he would disturb his peace.
"I expressed my hope that Madiba draws peace and comfort from the time that he is spending with loved ones," Mr Obama told Mrs Machel according to a statement.
Mrs Machel said she drew "strength from the support" from the Obama family.
After bilateral talks with Mr Obama, South Africa President Jacob Zuma said Mr Mandela remained in a "critical but stable" condition with a recurring lung infection.
Mr Obama has been faulted for lacking a grand programme to benefit Africa like the HIV/Aids initiative launched by George W Bush or the broad reductions of trade barriers achieved by Bill Clinton.
Many Africans have been disappointed at what they see as Mr Obama's hands-off approach to the continent, noting that his first extended trip the continent has not come until his second term in office despite his African ancestry.
Mr Obama's father was a native of Kenya.
The president's aides say he has been held back by the need to wind down two wars and to right the US economy after the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
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