First published: 13/01/22.

Zoë Sheng 1.0

Chongoni Rock Art

Chongoni Rock Art (Inscribed)

Chongoni Rock Art by Zoë Sheng

Usually this place isn't high on the list of travelers to Malawi. My visit was part of a safari tour that took me from Lake Malawi through Zambia to Botswana and it had this as a scheduled stop. The driver stated he rarely goes there and only because I had selected the "extensive" tour. From the only road across the country there is a road leading south that goes to the rock art. It is clearly signed, not that I think you'll be driving on your in Malawi but it's not unheard of. The closer you get to the sites the worse the road gets, eventually just dirt roads and little villages. That might explain why most safari tours avoid it. After just one site I told the driver I am not really interested, which of course in hindsight seems crazy BUT I stay with my rating that they are utterly garbage. While I'm not a fan of rock art in general, (I mean, who is?) I have seen my share of good ones. Colorful tigers in caves, various animals to show the changes to the landscape over time, even just traditional stuff is ok with me. However, what you see at Chongoni are very primitive drawings that seem to mainly focus on the local customs. Immediately that makes me thing why it's supposed to have a global impact, and honestly I'm not sure it's unique. There must be very similar rock art sites across southeast or just southern Africa that presents similar stuff.

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