Laas Geel

Laas Geel, in the hills outside Hargeisa in the north of Somalia, holds some of the oldest and best-preserved rock art in all of Africa, an astonishing series of prehistoric paintings estimated at several thousand years old. Sheltered beneath overhanging granite rocks that have protected them from sun and rain, the paintings glow in remarkably vivid reds, oranges and whites, depicting long-horned cattle adorned like sacred beasts, human figures with raised arms, dogs and wild animals. Discovered by the wider world only in 2002, these vivid galleries offer an extraordinary and intimate window onto the beliefs and pastoral life of the people who lived here in the distant past.

What you actually see

• The cattle paintings - the vivid long-horned cattle in red and white.
• The human figures - the ancient people with raised arms.
• The granite shelters - the overhangs that preserved the art.
• The vivid colours - the remarkably bright, well-preserved pigments.

When to go

November to February, the cooler and drier months, are the most comfortable for the visit to the hills, avoiding the hottest and wettest periods; the rock shelters are visited with local guides. The paintings are wonderfully clear in the natural light beneath the overhangs.

Honest expectations

Laas Geel lies in the hills outside Hargeisa and is visited with local guides, so a little organisation is needed, but the site itself is compact and its art extraordinary. As some of the oldest and most vivid prehistoric rock art in Africa, remarkably preserved and only recently revealed to the wider world, though, Laas Geel is a genuinely astonishing and moving place.

Nearby

The city of Hargeisa and the northern highlands lie around the site.