Mountainous Lesotho is part of a cross-border conservation programme that aims to improve travel to the region, making more of the country’s natural abundance accessible
Frankly, I was worried that my weight would snap poor Brandy’s back. I needn’t have worried, though. Despite looking daintier than a full-size horse, this nimble-footed Basotho pony was muscular and sturdy – and was not only an expert at clambering along the tricky, rocky trails, but knew the route like the back of her hoof.
We were seeing Lesotho from the saddle, our horses mustered right next to the parking area at Maliba Lodge, a hotel with accommodations ranging from stone-and-thatch chalets to traditional rondawels. It occupies a prime location within the largely subalpine
Ts’ehlanyane National Park, where tall peaks rise up to the clouds and in every direction there are mood-elevating vistas. The park’s highest point is some 3,112m above sea level, and the elevation makes it a prime spot for hiking, trail running or letting a pony do
all the leg work. The park, named for the endemic berg bamboo that flourishes here, also protects one of the country’s only stands of indigenous forest and is great for birdwatching – bearded vultures, rock kestrels and black storks are among the 180 or so bird species found here. Lesotho sidesteps most African stereotypes – it has no big game, no tropical rainforests, no dry savannahs. Instead, it has the highest lowest point of any country on Earth, not to mention most of southern Africa’s tallest peaks. Virtually anywhere beyond Maseru, you’ll spot blanket-wrapped herders tending to their cattle, mountain cowboys surmounting steep trails on horseback and donkeys laden ] with goods trekking from lower-altitude markets to remote mountain villages. Its sale of water to South Africa and its big-ticket diamonds notwithstanding, Lesotho is not a wealthy nation and being landlocked, without easy access to a port, combined with its lack of arable land, imposes limitations on its economy.
Change in focus
Such vulnerabilities mean that protecting the natural environment hasn’t necessarily been a priority – especially when there are economic benefits to be had from constructing dams, for example. Which is why the forging of a vast cross-borde protected region – the Maloti-Drakensberg Transfrontier Conservation and Development Area – has been so crucial. The agreement essentially commits
the governments of Lesotho and South Africa to cooperative protection of the entire natural and cultural environment, irrespective of national borders. The aim is to secure the future of one of world’s most breathtaking mountain areas, while taking into account the rights of communities to develop and to graze livestock and live sustainably on ancestral land. As well as iconic landmarks – Sani Pass, Tugela Falls, Thaba Ntlenyana – the transfrontier region encompasses ecologically valuable grasslands and Afromontane forest and an abundance of flowering plants, some 12% of which occur nowhere else on Earth. It’s also rich in human heritage. The land is steeped in the history of the unvanquished Basotho people and there are at least 600 rock art sites recalling over 4,000 years of San presence here. Plus, there are fossils and footprints of long-extinct dinosaurs. And some high cliffs are home to Cape and bearded vultures, both going the way of the dinosaurs as their habitats disappear. Save for a few border posts, these mountains are largely unfenced and many of the wild, high-altitude areas exist as seamless natural expanses that, especially on the Lesotho side of the border, see few visitors.
Close by
With South Africa completely surrounding Lesotho, what could be a more convenient getaway, literally on our doorstep? You can fly to the sprawling city of Maseru and drive to just about anywhere in the country, albeit sometimes on challenging roads. More often than not, such drives are accompanied by incredible vistas, plus insight into a foreign culture as you pass through rough-and-ready
little towns, each possessing their own unique charms. Leribe, for example, is where we visited a renowned weaving centre where beautiful mohair scarfs and blankets are woven on traditional looms from fibre first spun on rickety, antique mohair-spinning looms and then dyed on site. Kome, where a series of dwellings have been built into a natural cavern in the rock face, is named for a leader who established this settlement during the time of the great wars that redistributed tribes and people of southern Africa across the region. And at Thaba Bosiu, a sandstone plateau just east of Maseru, a cultural village is set up to showcase the lifestyle and achievements of the great King Moshoeshoe I, Lesotho’s founder.
And then there is the atmospheric settlement of Semonkong. Bang in the centre of Lesotho, the high-altitude town is surrounded by rugged grasslands that resemble the moors of the Scottish Highlands. It feels like some sprawling Wild West frontier town where virtually everyone gets about on horseback and there are even wooden posts outside the supply store so you can hitch your pony. Built on the banks of the Maletsunyane River and accessed via a short dirt road, Semonkong Lodge is a fantastically rustic stone-and-thatch retreat with a variety of chalets and rondawels, plus a quaint restaurant and bar, and a sense of being part of the community. Lodge staff can send you off on overnight pony rides with locals who show you a true, raw version of Lesotho. You’ll adventure up grass-covered hills to high plateaus and through quaint stone-and-thatch villages. With long hours in the saddle and cold nights in basic huts, it can be tough going, but a rare treat nonetheless. Shorter rides are offered, too. You can set off to see the spiral aloes (Lesotho’s national plant) on Mount Qoang, or for a short ride to see Semonkong’s seminal attraction, Maletsunyane Falls, the highest single-drop waterfall in southern Africa. Alternatively, the falls are an hour from the lodge on foot. At the lodge, you can also sign up for the world’s highest commercial abseil – which will see you clambering down the rockface alongside the waterfall. It’s a Guinness World Record-certified 204m descent into the gorge, after which you can swim in the pool below. If that’s not your thing, guides will show you a steep-but-exquisite hiking route down the canyon wall.
Another highlight in Semonkong is a donkey pub crawl, possibly the most sociable and immersive adventure you can have – literally a thirst-quenching tour of taverns, with a donkey instead of Uber to get you around. And you can attend a presentation by blanket expert Maseto Letsie, who sits visitors down and vividly unravels the cultural significance – and manifold uses – of traditional Basotho blankets. Another place to potentially ride a Basotho pony is at the top of Sani Pass, the mother of all southern African mountain drives, which links the KwaZulu-Natal town of Underberg to Mokhotlong in Lesotho. Winter temperatures at the top (2,876m) can hit 16° below zero, but just 8km beyond the Lesotho check post lies generator-powered Sani Mountain Escape with cosy rondawels, warm blankets and Africa’s highest pub. Besides its beers and views and fireplaces, the lodge is a base for the strenuous all-day hike to the top of Thabana Ntlenyana – 3,482m, the highest point south of Kilimanjaro. You can also get there on horseback, or use the surefooted steeds for shorter rides, perhaps to explore a mountain village with a guide. If you really want to get away from it all and witness the kind of ethereal beauty you will remember forever, head to Sehlabathebe National Park – a remote, seldom-visited reserve with rolling grassland, wildflowers, endless birdlife and dazzling silence.
Text and photography | Keith Bain
For more information or to book tours or accommodation, go to
roofofafricatours.com, placeofsmoke.co.ls and sanimountain.co.za.
