Khomani San Living Landscape

The ‡Khomani San were removed from the Kalahari Gemsbok park area in the twentieth century, dispersed onto farms and into towns, and by the 1970s were widely described in official accounts as no longer existing as a community. They did exist. In 1999 a land claim returned substantial ground to them, including land inside what is now the Kgalagadi park, and in 2017 UNESCO inscribed the ‡Khomani Cultural Landscape - a listing that recognises not buildings but knowledge: tracking, plant use, water-finding, and the relationship between people and the dunes maintained over millennia. Visiting means going with community guides, who walk the veld explaining plants, poisons, snares and tracks, and the honest note is that this is a community under real economic pressure and tourism is one of few income streams. Arrangements go through community operators rather than casual arrival.

What to look for

• The knowledge listing - a UNESCO site recognising tracking and plant use, not architecture.
• The 1999 land claim - ground returned to a people official records had written off.
• The guided veld walks - plants, poisons and tracking explained by ‡Khomani guides.
• The Kalahari dunes - the landscape the listing is attached to.

When to go

April to September. Two days. Arrange in advance through community operators.

Practical notes

This is not a walk-up attraction - visits are arranged and paid, and casual arrival is inappropriate. The community faces genuine hardship and some tourism operations around them have been criticised; choose community-run options. The Kalahari is hot and remote.

Nearby

The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is north; Upington is south-east.