Kondoa Rock-Art Sites

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Kondoa Rock Art Sites (2006). More Than 150 Rock Shelters Painted Over 2,000 Years, With Red, Orange And White Figures Of People, Animals And Symbols, Some Still Used By Local Communities For Rituals, Rain Making And Healing. The Best Known Are The Kolo And Pahi Sites, Reached By Guided Walks. · Kondoa, Dodoma

Kondoa Rock-Art Sites is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (2006) on the eastern escarpment of the Maasai Steppe, at the edge of the Great Rift Valley in Dodoma region. More than 150 rock shelters hold paintings made over some 2,000 to 3,000 years: red ochre figures of giraffes, elands, elephants, hunters and ritual scenes from Stone Age hunter-gatherers, and later white paintings linked to farming peoples. The Sandawe and Rangi communities still link some shelters to rain-making and healing. The honest picture: it is REMOTE, poorly signposted and rewarding mainly for people who love archaeology. Kolo is the best-known cluster, with Pahi, Cheke and Thawi further on. Allow a full day, take a guide from the visitor centre, and expect rough roads. The dry months, June to October, are the safest. Bring water, a hat and sturdy shoes, because there is little shade, no shop at the shelters and few cash machines in Kondoa town. Entrance is paid, and a local guide is part of the visit. Come for the quiet and the art, not for comfort.

Sandstone escarpment of the Maasai Steppe on the eastern edge of the Great Rift Valley, with painted rock shelters near the villages of Kolo, Pahi and Cheke about 40 km north of Kondoa town, Kondoa, Dodoma, Tanzania

The sites are open in daylight hours, most days, and visits go with a guide from the Kolo visitor centre. Ask for the opening times the day before. Some shelters may be CLOSED for community rituals, and rain can shut the roads. Confirm the hours locally.

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