It covers an area of approximately 16,500km, which is inhabited by Bakalanga and other ethnic groups. The predominant people found in this area, the Bakalanga, are a complex ethnic group, comprising many different cultural groups whose heritage spans the last 12,000 years of unprecedented continuity. The trail is made up of about 30 sites selected from over 500 heritage sites found in this region. These sites are explored in this paper and offer a fresh look at means through which the rich heritage found in Bukalanga can be developed to promote cultural tourism. Such a move is likely to contribute towards poverty eradication among communities living near these sites and even reinstate a sense of the otherwise vague pride among these people. The paper provides a journey into the prehistory of the area beginning on the Motloutse River in the south up to Maitengwe village in the north. Archaeological sites, hilltop ruins, shrines, historic buildings, outstanding natural sites and contemporary cultural sites found in this region are viewed as a cog wheel through which we can promote cultural tourism and empower local communities. The most prominent heritage sites found in the area are stone walled ruins such as Domboshaba, Vukwi and Schermer's Ruins; remnants of social, economic and political life of Bakalanga people during the reign of powerful Mambos of the Chibundule and Changamire dynasties, which form the forgotten powerful Bakalanga state known as Butua.
During the early days of the Domboshaba Cultural Festival, I found myself surrounded by many Bakalanga university students who knew very little about their cultural identity. Despite congregating near Domboshaba Ruins yearly to celebrate and promote their culture, many people I conversed with on this topic remained utterly ignorant about where the Bakalanga people come from. This unfortunate scenario remains a challenge to many youthful Bakalanga. The sad discovery that a substantial body of knowledge on the history and cultural identity of the Bakalanga I had acquired from available literature as a student of archaeology, my grandparents and other elderly Bakalanga people somehow remained limited to many people. During a recent survey of sites forming this heritage trail many elderly people in the region echoed the similar sentiment that my university colleagues were faced with. The causal effect of this cultural backlog is a subject worth discussing in another discussion. The lack of comprehension of critical facts by the majority of Bakalanga youth motivated me to write this paper.
