Exploring The History Of Tanzanian Cave Paintings : When you ask for just one and only one stunning tourist destination where you can spend your hard-earned money on a safari, I will highly recommend you put Tanzania as your top tourist stop. The country is rich in tourist attractions, most of which are world’s spectacular destinations like Mount Kilimanjaro, Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. Apart from these attractions, Tanzania is home to over 120 ethnic groups with a vibrant culture and history.
Put all popular attractions aside and explore something new that will make you leave Tanzania with no regrets. Have you heard about the Tanzanian cave paintings? They are a stunning feature of this country, which is rich in natural wonders and history. Therefore, if you are not a fan of visiting parks and reserves jam-packed with wild animals, you may choose to visit such wonderful caves that carry significant history of human civilization. If you are interested in visiting Tanzanian cave paintings, here are some of them:
Kondoa-Irangi Rock Paintings
Fly to Dodoma city, the capital city of Tanzania, from any location within the country and see the magic. Dodoma is famously known as the largest producer of “zabibu” in Tanzania, and you will likely to encounter vendors selling these sweet fruits before you leave the city.
In one of Dodoma’s seven districts, Kondoa are the picturesque rock-art paintings that draw the attention of thousands of travelers worldwide to witness their beauty. You will leave the city by private or public transport to Kolo. The rock-art paintings are found in the Kondoa Irangi mountain ranges. You will have to hike through these ranges until you reach the peak, where you will witness these iconic paintings.
Kondoa Irangi Paintings feature the arts and paintings of unique tribes of Tanzania: the Sandawe and Hadzabe, who hold notable cultural customs of Tanzania. The drawings are said to be over 40,000 years old, marking a significant part in the human history. The pictures painted here include people, wild animals such as elephants, antelopes, hyenas and giraffes, and hunting scenes. Kondoa paintings signify the lives of hunters and gatherers like Hadzabe and Sandawe, who have been in the wild since many years ago.
Gong Cave; the Maasai Paintings
Serengeti National Park is not just for wildlife safaris. In the Moru Kopjes, which are a guaranteed place for spotting the African leopard and the fastest land animal, the cheetah, you will meet the Gong Rock. Most visitors like to climb to the top of this rock to witness the scenic views of animals like elephants, lions, black rhino, buffalos, waterbucks and zebras.
In the Gong Rock there are stunning Maasai paintings said to have been painted by the Maasai who go by the name “young warriors”, who migrated into Serengeti from the Nile valley. Gong Rock was once used by the Maasai as their settlement before they migrated to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. They painted stunning paintings in red and white. You may wonder where they obtained such colors. The young warriors used some tree bark to obtain red colors, while white was obtained by burning trees to ashes.
You can hike through these areas and witness the creativity of the Maasai in painting rocks. You will also see some other stunning views of wild animals since you are in the world’s famous wildlife sanctuary.
Igeleke Rock Paintings
These rock paintings are also called Iringa Rock Art. They are found in southern Tanzania, in Iringa region. They feature human figures, an elephant, jumping eland, and a giraffe hiding in loss grass, painted in different artistic styles including the “Hunter-Forager”, “Bantu-language-speaker” and “Late White” styles. You can book a day trip to this extraordinary destination. Don’t forget to go there with a tour guide who is familiar with the paintings and who will tell you all about every figure that appears on the rock.
Ambone Caves
Ambone caves are found in Tanga region, just 9 kilometers from Tanga city. They have a total area of 234 square kilometers. These caves are said to have been formed about 150 million years ago and were once inhabited by ancient human beings. They carry some inspiring mythical stories from the locals. Here, you will observe ten caves, but only one of them can be accessed on guided tours. The locals consider these caves as sacred places for worshipping the “Mizimu”, a Swahili word for ghost.
They have beautiful paintings depicting resting chairs, a ship, a crocodile, Mount Kilimanjaro and the male lion head.
Truly speaking, a trip to this iconic paintings would be worth more than hearing about them. Plan a trip, go check them out and discover more on your way to and from the caves. You will enjoy seeing the artistic skills of ancient human beings. If you really want to enjoy these cave paintings, you may consider planning a trip to Tanzania.
