Ghanzi: San culture, crafts and landscapes

Get to know Ghanzi through its varied cultural themes and the landscapes of the wider Ghanzi District. In the centre of Ghanzi, the Gantsi craft shop offers San crafts; north of the town lies D’Kar, home to an annual festival held in August. These details raise different questions for planning your trip: Are you interested in crafts in the centre, a cultural festival in the nearby village, or landscapes across the wider district? The references to places and regions help distinguish these highlights before you decide what you would like to focus on during your trip.

D’Kar: village and August festival

D’Kar is a small village 35 kilometres north of Ghanzi and home to various extended families of the Bushman people. The Kuru Traditional Dance and Music Festival is held there every year in August. The festival’s name refers to traditional dance and music. It is organised by the Kuru D'Kar Trust, which is part of the Kuru Family of Organisations, a group of seven organisations. The Kuru Family of Organisations has the promotion of San culture as its stated aim. This brings the festival’s location, recurring timing, organiser and cultural purpose together. If the festival is relevant to your trip, use August as a time reference and check the exact dates in advance.

San crafts in the centre

The Gantsi craft shop is located in the centre of Ghanzi. Its products include San crafts, such as jewellery and belts made from ostrich eggshells, hunting equipment, fire sticks, leather goods, carvings and traditional musical instruments. One distinctive detail is the use of ostrich eggshell for jewellery and belts; the other examples show that the range extends beyond jewellery alone. For those interested, materials, types of objects and musical instruments offer different points of interest. Unlike the festival in D’Kar, the focus here is on specific handcrafted items. Check whether the shop is open before visiting.

Landscapes in Ghanzi District

The wider Ghanzi District is home to the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, which includes large clay pans, fossil river valleys, vegetated sand dunes and wooded areas. These landscapes extend the focus beyond Ghanzi and D’Kar. The scale differs from that of the cultural attractions: the crafts and festival are associated with Ghanzi and D’Kar respectively, while the landscapes are part of Ghanzi District. If you are weighing culture and landscapes as different priorities for your trip, this distinction helps clarify the places and regions involved.

Locations to help plan your trip

When choosing between the two cultural highlights, it is useful to consider their locations: the shop is in the centre of Ghanzi, while the village of D’Kar is 35 kilometres to the north. This gives you a clear distinction between crafts in town and the festival in a nearby village. If you are interested in both, you can include them as separate stops in your travel plans; the festival’s annual August date helps you place it on your itinerary.

Discover more destinations: Ghanzi

Go to the wider travel overview: Ghanzi District.