Tsodilo Hills

• 3500 individual rock paintings
• Situated near the Okavango Delta

In the flat barren landscape of north western Botswana, some 50km west of the village of Sepupa, the sheer cliff-faces of the four Tsodilo Hills rise majestically above the surrounding Kalahari sanveld.  This mysterious site is shrouded in myth and legend and is spiritually significant for the local San people who are believed to have inhabited the area for over 35,000 years.

The word Tsodilo is derived from the Hambukushu word ‘sorile’, meaning 'sheer'. Rising out of the flat Kalahari, the Tsodilo Hills dominate their surroundings completely. The hills are rocky outcrops consisting of mecaceous quartzite schist know as Inselbergs and were formed a relatively recent 450 million years ago.

The area is festooned with thousands of San rock paintings representing a variety of scenes, some of which date back to approximately 1,300AD. There are several trails around the hills leading to more than 350 rock-painting sites.

The San people refer to the hills as ‘The Male’, ‘The Female’ and ‘The Child’.  A fourth, and much smaller hill has not been named but is said to be the first wife of The Male who was then discarded for taller Female Hill.  The Male is the largest of the four hills reaching a height of about 400 metres above the surrounding Kalahari plain; The Female is a smaller hill at about 300m but covers a larger area almost three times that of The Male.  About 2km away from The Female lies The Child, which reaches only 40m in height.

The area is however extremely remote, with no shops or accommodation facilities, but it is possible to camp and obtain borehole water.

Special Features Include:

• San Bushman Paintings
  There are over 3500 individual rock paintings in more than 350 sites at Tsodilo Hills. The precise ages of the paintings are not entirely known and the most recent addition may be only 100 years old.  The majority of the rock paintings are to be found on the Female hill and many can be seen without too much climbing.