These four hills in the country´s far northwest near the Namibian border are home to more than 400 sites with some 4,500 rock painting and petroglyphs made by hunter-gatherers of the San and Bantu peoples over millennia - the oldest estimated to date back as far as 24,000 years! Found in the hills´ caves, cliffs, grottoes, and rock shelters, they mostly depict giraffes, rhinos, elands, cattle along with other wild as well as domesticated animals. Botswana´s many modern-day San believe these hills are the abode of the spirits of the dead, who will be angered and cause misfortune if anyone hunts or causes death here. That of course doesn´t include tourism, and so visitors get to have a fascinating glimpse into the deep past of southern Africa, as well as get some context at a small museum nearby. In its World Heritage description, UNESCO calls this collection of paintings "the Louvre of the desert".


Oliver Vass