Acacus Mountains

The Acacus Mountains are a sandstone massif in the central Sahara of southwestern Libya known for extensive prehistoric rock art and archaeological sites. The rock paintings and engravings document millennia of human presence and environmental change in the Sahara.

The cultural deposits include thousands of images showing people, animals and scenes of daily life, produced over a long time span from the Late Pleistocene into the Holocene. These panels are the principal reason for the area’s inscription as a World Heritage property and attract researchers and specialist visitors.

Rock-art creation and use occurred over many millennia as the Sahara transformed from a more humid landscape to arid desert; the panels provide evidence for shifts in subsistence and climate. The region’s remoteness and fragile heritage have required specialised archaeological study and controlled access.

The massif lies in the Fezzan region of southwestern Libya near the town of Ghat and forms part of the Sahara desert landscape, accessed via desert tracks and requiring robust 4x4 travel.

• Significance and access: The area contains rock art that spans from hunter-gatherer imagery to later pastoral scenes, and is best visited with experienced guides because of remoteness and terrain.

What to See #

• Rock-art panels: Thousands of engraved and painted panels across rock shelters and cliff faces that record human occupation, fauna and pastoral scenes over many millennia.