Didima Rock Art Center

"The San people have been our forgotten people in the past but now I welcome them into the light, into their rightful place in our society." uKhahlamba Drakensberg was included into the World Heritage Site list on 29 November 2000. It earned World Heritage Site status due to its cultural and natural significance. Its focus is on rock art.The park contains more than 600 known rock art locations

Minister Valli Moosa formally opened the Didima Rock Art Centre in 2003, through the generosity, foresight and help of many contributors whose participation is gratefully appreciated. San descendants from the uKhahlamba Drakensberg, WIMSA and SASI representatives, Mr. Valbooi and Mr. Chennels, amongst other guests, graced the opening of the Didima Rock art centre.

A visit to the Didima San Art centre leads a visitor along the process of discovery using the significance of the eland in San culture as a theme that threads its way through the experience. The theme of the eland is first shown in the innovative display hall. After the introduction to the intriguing culture and lifestyle of the San people, the visitor is led into a small cave like room for a time of traditional fireside story telling, before moving on to the cultural auditorium for a screening of the inspirational and provocative audiovisual presentation.

The specifically styled Didima cultural auditorium seats almost 100 visitors before a near life size duplicate of the Clarens sandstone overhang. The valley of the eland multimedia show, which plays for 15 minutes, explores the truth, myth and legend surrounding the rock art imagery of the uKhahlamba Drakensberg. As the house lights fade in at the end of the show, an exact scale production of the well-known panel of Botha’s shelter in the Didima Gorge emerges. In the quite afterglow of this display visitors can take some time to view the overhang at leisure before departing into the lower display area where they are introduced to the Ndumeni Craft Centre and Coffee Shop.

Didima visitors have an opportunity to obtain hand-made crafts made by local people. Overlooking a mountain stream is the thatched Ndumeni Coffee Shop, which has an ideal venue to enjoy a refreshing drink and a light lunch while soaking up the extraordinary Drakensberg landscape.