Botswana hopes to increase the number of tourists visiting Gcwihaba Hills in the remote part of Ngamiland next to the Namibian border.

National Museum Director Gaogakwe Phorano told Tourism Update that it had developed a heritage tourism product to experience the Gcwihaba Caves and the San culture of the resident Xai-Xai community. He said the experience included exploring the caves and witnessing the Basarwa (San) trance dance at the neighbouring Aha Hills.

Caves in the area include the Gcwihaba Caves beneath the Gcwihaba Hills; the adjacent !Wa Doum Cave and the Mongongo Cave, Bone Cave, Diviners Cave and Blue Cave, which are all beneath the Koanaka Hills.

Phorano said in the past, Gcwihaba Hills was not well known to international visitors, but additional facilities had been built to boost visits. In 2015 a gatehouse was opened where visitors pay entrance fees at Gcwihaba Hills. The gatehouse was constructed by the Xai Xai community in partnership with the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, and a campsite has been built by the Botswana Tourism Organisation. The campsite at Qcwihaba can accommodate 60 people.

He said there were also plans to construct a lodge in the area to cater for the tourists but that there were no specific timelines for the lodge’s opening.

According to Phorano, heritage tourism sites nationwide are being developed to diversify Botswana’s wildlife-based tourism product, such as Tsodilo Hills, a Unesco Heritage Site where visitors can view ancient rock paintings. More than 20 000 visitors visit Tsodilo Hills annually to see the paintings.

In 2013, Botswana’s Minister for Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, Tshekedi Khama, opened campsites and crafts centre at Tsodilo Hills as part of a community-based tourism initiative.

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