For thousands of years, a pilgrimage has been made by the Basotho people to a network of sacred caves to communicate with the spiritual world. The caves also contain dinosaur footprints and ancient rock paintings. The caves are located between the eastern parts of the Free State and Lesotho. These sacred caves are often described as 'the key to religion' in Southern Africa. Caves Caves have been known throughout human existence, religion, and culture as isolated spaces perfect for meditation and reflection. The Basotho people traditionally regard caves as a dwelling place for ancestors. The caves are visited by thousands of people to perform spiritual rituals. The Fertility Caves lie outside Clarens in the Free State at the foot of the Maluti Mountains in Lesotho. The Matouleng Cave Heritage site is 18 km away from Clarens. The caves lie below the second largest stone overhang in the Southern Hemisphere. Peripheral to the Matouleng cave is a small cluster of caves, the Badimong caves, as well as other areas regarded as sacred. The caves have no specific spiritual authority, therefore, a combination of two belief systems co-exist in the caves namely Christianity and African traditions. While many sacred caves exist, the most popular remain the Motouleng caves and the Badimong caves. The caves are used for a variety of purposes: a source of drinking water, source for virgin water, an area to perform religious rituals, an area for cremations and burials, art galleries, discarding ritual utensils and mining of the red clay for ceremonies. The Basotho and other African traditions find water to be an element which is ancestrally significant therefore, the streams and pools in the caves play an important role in the ceremonies that occur in the sacred caves. Mount Mautse Mount Mautse in the Eastern Free State has been regarded as the 'Holy Mountains' since the 1970s. It is believed that the power of healing rests in caves residing in these mountains. These caves are regarded as the 'universities for practicing traditional rituals' which is why many traditional healers are frequently found here. Many traditional healers, who live in the Holy Mountains, believe that they have been sent by their ancestors to heal people. Many of these traditional healers leave their modern careers after being 'called' by the ancestors until they have fulfilled their healing duties. Traditional healers receive their 'calling' from ancestors through visions and dreams and