Drakensberg Rock Art

The Drakensberg rock art is one of South Africas greatest cu

The rock art of the Drakensberg are some of South Africas greatest cultural treasures. Some 20 000 individual rock paintings have been recorded at 500 different cave and overhang sites between Royal Natal National Park and Bushmans Neck.

Subjects of the bushman and san paintings range from animals (mainly eland) to humans, therianthropes to ox-wagons and mounted men with rifles. In Ndedema Gorge in the Central Drakensberg 3 900 paintings have been recorded at 17 sites. One of them, Sebaayeni Cave, contains 1 146 individual paintings. In the Cathedral Peak- Mdelelelo Wilderness Area there are another 130 sites with a total of over 8 800 individual paintings. Other prime sites include the Main caves in Giants castle game reserve, Battle Cave in the Injasuti Valley and Game Pass Shelter in the Kamberg Nature Reserve.

The San rock paintings weren’t just representations of life; they were also repositories of it. When shamans painted an eland, they didn’t just pay homage to a sacred animal; they also harnessed its essence. They put paint to rock and opened portals to the spirit world.

When entering a trance, shamans often bleed from their nose and experience excruciating physical pain. The shamans’ arms stretch behind them as the transformation into the spirit world takes place. Scholars believe that the trance dance serves as the foundation for rock art, and clear corollaries between cave images and trance ceremonies appear in the Drakensberg cave paintings. These ancient images offer a record into ages past.

The Ukhahlamba-Drakensberg Park is a World Heritage Site - one of just 23 sites worldwide granted this status on the basis of both natural beauty and cultural significance. The 230 000 hectare protected area contains 500 known sites of San rock art.

Accommodation in and around Drakensberg