Many of the Karoo spiritual excursions are limited to just one destination, where guests are encouraged to relax in the quiet and isolation of the semi-desert.

The entire Karoo spiritual escape tour package

There are, however, spiritual travel operators offering guided tours to various desert destinations. Enchanting Karoo towns with their original Victorian and Cape Dutch structures, authentic 'broekie-lace' ironwork, museums and national monuments form part of the itinerary.

So too do world-famous road passes, remote and secluded valleys and fascinating talks and documentaries on the hidden gems of the Karoo.

About the Karoo

The Karoo is an ancient land situated in the heart of South Africa. Over the 250 million years of its existence it has witnessed the formation of ice, swamplands, inland deltas, seas and volcanic activity.

Even though a hostile land, the location used to be the place to find large groups of ancient reptiles that remain caught in the layers of strata as fossils. Today, the Great Karoo is an area of extraordinary variety, offering the richest desert flora on the planet, with over 9,000 species of plants.

Once filled with great herds of plains animals, the Karoo is still home to many different creatures. The Mountain and Burchell's zebra, Black rhino, Cape and Bat-eared fox, caracal and aardvark are amongst the animals endemic to the region.

The once extinct quagga again roams free in the Karoo National Park, having been recreated from tissue samples harvested from a museum exhibit!

Bushmen rock art

As the Stone Age tribes of Africa, the Bushmen were just as much a part of the environment as the wildlife had been. These ancient hunter gatherers left their mark, by means of beautifully maintained rock art, on the cliff faces and cave wall space of the Karoo.

Delicately crafted pictures of creatures and rather contentious mermaid-like creatures can be found all over this dry, arid region, making one of the world's largest open-air galleries.

Booking a spiritual retreat in the Karoo

If you feel the need for the solitude and silence of beautiful Karoo desert destinations, consider spoiling the mind, body and soul on a Karoo spiritual retreat.

Combine a 'time out' with travel to typical Karoo hamlets and valleys where you'll also improve your knowledge of the area.