Tsodilo Hills, Botswana

Tsodilo is a sacred, mystical place and spiritual site consisting of a few main hills known as the Child Hill, the Female Hill, and the Male Hill which are of great cultural and spiritual significance to the San people. The San and the Hambukushu are believed to be the original dwellers and have periodically occupied the hills for the past 200 years in Kalahari.

A national monument and Botswana’s first World Heritage site, the captivating hills are an amazing sight consisting of rock art, rock shelters, depressions, and caves. The cherished Tsodilo Hills are described as one of the most important heritage sites in the Kalahari. As to who put paintings on the rock face and their meanings, remain a mystery even to today.

Rock paintings. Source:travelnation

The rock paintings represent thousands of years of human settlement. There are approximately 4,000 in all, comprising red finger paintings and geometrics.  They are mostly believed to have been done by the San, while some were painted by the pastoral Khoi who later settled in the area. The red paintings were done mainly in the first millennium AD.

Not only a spiritual wonder, The Tsodilo hills also pride themselves of boundless natural beauty, with the birds, trees and incredible landscape adding to the scenic splendour.

To the local communities, the hills have a spiritual significance because, in ancient times, their ancestors performed religious rituals to ask for help and rain from the gods.

Rhino Panel.Tsodilo Hills Botswana. Source:africandesertcrafts

The Hill. Source:botswanatourism