Kondoa Irangi

It is a collection of several hundred rock shelters on the eastern escarpment of the Maasai plateau in central Tanzania, holding paintings made over thousands of years. The images include hunting scenes, elongated human figures, wild animals and abstract forms in red ochre, with later white paintings overlying them. The area was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006. Kolo village is the base, and the antiquities office there arranges the permits and guides needed for any visit.

The oldest are thought to date back many thousands of years, though precise dating of rock art is difficult and estimates vary considerably between researchers. What is clearer is the sequence: earlier red ochre paintings attributed to hunter-gatherer communities were later overlaid by white paintings made by Bantu-speaking farmers, giving an unusually legible record of cultural change over a very long period. A 4x4 is necessary for the tracks up to the shelters, which deteriorate quickly after rain.

Kolo, a village on the main road roughly 160 kilometres north of Dodoma, is the base. Permits and guides are arranged at the antiquities office there, and you cannot visit independently. Guides know which shelters are currently accessible, as some remain in ritual use and are periodically closed. Reaching the shelters involves driving rough tracks and then walking uphill. Some shelters remain in ritual use and are periodically closed, so your guide will advise on the day.

Yes, for the tracks from Kolo up to the shelters, which are rough and become difficult after rain. The main road to Kolo itself is reasonable. Some visitors arrange a vehicle and driver in Kondoa town or Dodoma rather than bringing their own, which is often easier given how few signposts there are and how much local knowledge helps. Kolo village is the base, and the antiquities office there arranges the permits and guides needed for any visit.

A full day from Kolo covers the most accessible shelter groups comfortably, including the driving and the walks up. Seeing a wider range of sites, including Pahi and Thawi to the south, needs two days. Most visitors stop overnight in Kondoa town or Kolo, as the sites are too far from Dodoma or Arusha for a day trip. A 4x4 is necessary for the tracks up to the shelters, which deteriorate quickly after rain.

June to October is the dry season and much the best window, when the approach tracks are firm and vegetation has died back enough to reach the shelters easily. December to April brings the single rainy season, when tracks become difficult or impassable and some shelters cannot be reached at all. Go early in the day whatever the month. Some shelters remain in ritual use and are periodically closed, so your guide will advise on the day.

Generally yes, though restrictions apply at some shelters that remain in ritual use, and your guide will say where. Flash is discouraged everywhere. The paintings are faint in places and photograph best in indirect light rather than full sun, which is another reason to arrange visits early or late in the day rather than at midday. Kolo village is the base, and the antiquities office there arranges the permits and guides needed for any visit.

For anyone interested in prehistory or rock art, yes, and few visitors ever come, so you are likely to have the shelters to yourself. It is a long way from the main circuits and infrastructure is basic. It works best combined with an overland route between Dodoma and Arusha rather than as a destination reached specially. A 4x4 is necessary for the tracks up to the shelters, which deteriorate quickly after rain.