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Valley of Desolation, South Africa
Not so desolate after all
Camdeboo National Park's name comes from a word that's tricky for non-Khoekhoe speakers to say (although it's fun to try). !Xamdeboo, with '!' pronounced as a click consonant, means 'green valley.' In sharp contrast, the park's signature feature – this 120-metre-tall mass of pillarlike diabase – is named the Valley of Desolation. A paved road leads park visitors to this stark stone sight, also a great place for surveying the Karoo scrubland where kudu, eland and even the occasional Cape mountain zebra roam.
Not so desolate after all
Camdeboo National Park's name comes from a word that's tricky for non-Khoekhoe speakers to say (although it's fun to try). !Xamdeboo, with '!' pronounced as a click consonant, means 'green valley.' In sharp contrast, the park's signature feature – this 120-metre-tall mass of pillarlike diabase – is named the Valley of Desolation. A paved road leads park visitors to this stark stone sight, also a great place for surveying the Karoo scrubland where kudu, eland and even the occasional Cape mountain zebra roam.
The Valley of Desolation's prime feature is not a valley but a 120-metre-tall group of stone pillars.
© Bernd Grundmann / Huber / eStock Photo 2026-09-11 08:45:51 :