One of the most impressive rock art sites in Lesotho, ancient Ha Baroana adorns a massive sandstone overhang flanking the Liphiring River near the village of Matela some 40km east of Maseru.
Ha Baroana translates as Home of Bushman, and the rock art there, as with most other such sites in Lesotho, is attributed to the San or Bushmen hunter-gatherers who inhabited the region prior to the foundation of the Sotho Kingdom in the early 19th century.
As is so often the case in Southern Africa, the art at Ha Baroana is dominated by polychrome depictions of the eland, which is the world’s largest antelope, and was held sacred by the shamanic artists. Other figures include a herd of smaller, more streamlined antelope (most likely hartebeest or blesbok), a peculiar leopard-like predator, a circle of dancers, and an unusually well-preserved all-black hunter running with spear in hand.
Estimated to be up to 2,000 years old, the surviving paintings at Ha Baroana are now quite faded and spread patchily across the shelter’s tall decurved 70-metre long sandstone wall. Take your time, however, and it is surprising just how many different figures gradually reveal themselves as your eyes become accustomed to seeking them out amidst the rock’s natural colour variations and grains. Even so, the surviving rock art at Ha Baroana would represent a tiny fraction of the paintings that must once have adorned this vast this open-air gallery, and one can only imagine how impressive and beautiful the site must have been in its prehistoric prime.
The 15-minute walk from Ha Baroana’s modern Visitors' Centre to the rock art site is a scenic delight, descending steeply into a gorgeous river valley and then crossing two footbridges before it emerges into the forested stretch of riverbank that shelters the paintings.
Sleeping: There is no accommodation at the rock art site, but it is easily visited as a day trip from Maseru, whether on its own or in conjunction with visits to Thaba Bosiu and Ha Kome.
Eating: There is no restaurant at Ha Baroana but if you stock up in Maseru, the Visitors' Centre is a lovely spot for a picnic.
Access: Ha Baroana is about an hour’s drive east of Maseru. Follow the A2 southeast from the city centre almost as far as Moshoeshoe I International Airport, then turn east on to the A3 to Nazareth, from where it is about 10 minutes on a good unsurfaced road to the Visitors' Centre.
Preparations: Good walking shoes are recommended for the short but steep hike to the paintings. A walking stick might also be useful on the uneven terrain.
© Lesotho Tourism Development Corporation
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