Southern runs west from the hills near Lobatse towards the Kalahari, and for more than two centuries its heart has been Kanye, the Bangwaketse capital. The town spreads across a line of hills that once served as a natural fortress, and it's the longest continuously occupied tribal capital in Botswana. Around it, cattle ranches and fields of maize and sorghum stretch across the sandveld. North of Kanye, Moshupa is known for its giant balanced boulders, which villagers say will only fall when their kgosi is dying.
Kanye's gorge and the Manyana paintings
Pharing Gorge cuts deep into the hills in the middle of Kanye, and villagers are said to have hidden there during the Mfecane wars of the nineteenth century. A walk along its floor, between steep rock walls, is a good way to start the day before the heat builds. Kanye also has two dams, called Mmakgodumo and Mmamokhasi, which are at their fullest after the summer rains. North-east of town, on the edge of Manyana, five rock faces at the foot of the Kolobeng hills carry paintings of giraffe and antelope made several hundred years ago. A huge old fig tree in the village is where David Livingstone is said to have taught. Nearby Dimawe Hill is where Batswana forces fought a Boer commando in the nineteenth century.
Booking on adventuro
For the diamond town of Jwaneng and the rest of the south, see our guide to southern Botswana. Use the Book here tab to see live dates and prices.
