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Travel back in time on a trip to Twyfelfontein - one of Africa's most significant archaeological sites. An hour's drive west of Khorixas, you will find a treasure trove of paintings and petroglyphs created by this desolate land's ancient inhabitants.
Need Advice?People have inhabited the area for an estimated 6000 years and left visual proof of their existence in art carved into the rocks and paintings on rock faces.
Twyfelfontein means "uncertain fountain" in Afrikaans. It lies in the barren Damaraland region of western Namibia, a desert area scattered by rocky outcrops and boulders. Tours that visit the northern part of Nambia normally spend a couple of nights in the area.
At the heritage site, visitors can take part in guided tours of the rock art; there are three different trails to take. Visitors should expect quite a journey as the trails are full of rocks and high steeps. Expect to spend two hours looking at this ancient art.
Petrified trees that are hundreds of millions of years old - were carried into the desert by ancient rivers. The forest is located 50 km west of Khorixas and is only a short drive from Twyfelfontein. View strange rock formations like the Organ Pipes in the same locale.
Examples of the strange and ancient Welwitschia plant grow here. They are among the oldest plants on earth. Rare animals that occur in the area are desert black rhinos and elephants. They wander over great ranges and are not spotted easily.
The consensus is that a desert is uninhabitable. But it is home to many adapted plants and animals and is teeming with life. It is a wonderland, not a wasteland, where those who observe will see life in abundance.
From the international airports in Johannesburg or Cape Town, Windhoek Airport is the closest major airport to the Twyfelfontein area. The journey can either keep on its aerial route by a charter flight to an airstrip right outside Twyfelfontein that receives a few of these flights weekly or travel by road.
From the airport by road, one of our experienced tour guides will serve as your driver in one of our comfortable vehicles for a few hours before arriving at Twyfelfontein.
The climate in this part of Namibia is extreme. The area is semi-desert, with freezing and hot temperatures to be felt in winter and summer, respectively. Luckily, humidity in this part of the world is a non-issue. The weather does, however, permit the best time to visit the area, which is in the autumn or early spring. April and September fall within that ideal sweet spot.
The World Heritage Site was first recognized nationally as a monument in 1952, some years after word of its existence reached officials. It is the work of hunter-gatherers, the area's earliest inhabitants. Twyfelfontein is in the Haub Valley in the southernmost part of the region. Since its creation, it has been discovered, rediscovered, taken over by the Apartheid government, declared a monument, and finally declared the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in Namibia.
The area is home to several animals adapted to extreme weather conditions and the arid nature of the area's environment. Like those who wander the Kalahari or the Sahara's edge, elephants occur. Giraffes can also be found here, along with black rhinos occasionally revealing themselves. Smaller mammals in the area include the bat-eared fox, aardwolf, and meerkat, all of which feed on reptiles and insects.
The area is arid and rocky, making for a large inventory of canvasses for local people to transform the area into the cultural hub it is today. Twyfelfontein is in the transition point between the savanna areas to the east and the infamous Skeleton Coast National Park, part of the Namib Desert, to the west. The ground here is grass-covered with scattered trees, but water remains a scarce and valuable resource. The valley has lower-lying areas and rocky cliffs that encompass it, with many different elevation levels as opposed to the flat, dune-covered regions to the west.
First and foremost, taking a guided rock art tour tops the list of activities. The variety and history found amongst the art take you back to generations and generations of people unrepresented in our modern society and stories of their encounters and challenges. The figures drawn on the rocks are also considered a pictographic communication system that preceded the first writing systems. Luckily, pictures like these have been deciphered and shared, along with the ancient stories, they tell to this day.
A drive on the area's dry riverbeds is the second most commonly practiced activity here. One might not think a dry river is much different from any other dry patch of land around you, but elephants often dig below these rivers in search of water.
