The Drakensberg mountains was inhabited by the San people for over 20,000 years. The winding mountain pass about 40k's from Dharmagiri called the Sani Pass which goes up to Lesotho, tracks the route they would use from mountains to sea when following game. The tragic story of the San genocide is woven into the fabric of South Africa's bloodied and difficult history.

However although not physically present, their spirit is felt in the elemental movement of weather patterns, the spectacular mountains and in the rock art. The San rock paintings weren't just representations of life but repositories of it. When shamans painted an eland, they didn't just pay homage to a sacred animal, they harnessed its essence. They put paint to rock and opened portals to the spirit world, enabled through trance. Corollaries between cave images and trance ceremonies appear in the cave paintings around Dharmagiri. These ancient images offer a bridge into the mists of time.