Tsodilo, Archaeological site in Kalahari Desert, Botswana

Tsodilo is a group of four hills in the Kalahari, the highest reaching 1,400 metres above sea level. The site holds over 4,500 rock paintings across some 500 locations, including red San figures and white Bantu images. Rhino Cave on Female Hill has a white rhino split by a giraffe painting.

Charcoal from Tsodilo has been dated to the Middle Stone Age, Later Stone Age and African Iron Age, and some paintings may be as old as 24,000 years. At Divuyu and Nqoma, Early Iron Age slag and tuyères point to iron smelting, while finds include copper and iron bangles, beads, chisels and arrowheads.

The San, whose ancestors painted many of the red figures, hold the hills sacred as a resting place for the spirits of the deceased. They believe misfortune follows anyone who hunts or causes death near the hills. Visitors hear such stories tied to the painted caves and rock shelters.

The hills lie about 40 km from Shakawe and are reached by a good graded dirt road. A managed campsite sits between the two largest hills, with showers and toilets, near the Laurens van der Post panel. A small museum and an airstrip are close to the campsite.

The White Paintings Rock Shelter displays images of horseback riders and domestic animals that reflect different time periods at the site. These images reveal how artistic styles and subjects evolved as new influences arrived in the region.