Laas Gaal

Laas Gaal is a prehistoric cave complex near Hargeisa in Somalia, spread across a rocky hill with ten sheltered alcoves beneath natural granite overhangs. The walls display hundreds of painted figures, including long-horned cattle, dogs, giraffes, and humans with raised arms.

A French research team documented the site in 2002 after local herders pointed out the paintings. Analysis places the oldest images in the early Neolithic, when communities in the Horn of Africa began raising livestock.

The name means "camel's watering place" in Somali, referring to the dry riverbeds that once brought herders and their animals to these shelters. Today, visitors walk the same paths that pastoralists followed thousands of years ago.

Visiting requires a permit from the Ministry of Tourism and transport with an armed escort from Hargeisa, with local hotels coordinating the necessary arrangements. The drive takes about an hour, followed by a short climb to the main hill.

Some cattle in the paintings wear neck collars and decorated blankets, suggesting ceremonial practices. The colors remain bright because the dry desert wind has preserved the pigments across millennia.