Why You Should Visit Lesotho, the Kingdom in the Sky

San Rock Art

The San/Bushmen were hunter-gatherers. You can find their rock art in caves and rock overhangs in Lesotho. You can also find depictions of lion, leopard and eland at Ha Baroana which is east of Maseru.

Liphofung Cultural Centre

Liphofung means ‘place of the eland’. You can locate this cultural centre in the Butha Buthe area. It has beautiful paintings of eland – large antelope – on its walls.

Tsatsane Valley

In the remote south-east of Lesotho, within the Tsatsane Valley, there are four rock art sites. Schedule a reasonable amount of time to enjoy depictions of the largest known painting – up to 2m long and 1m high – of an eland. You can also find paintings of zebra and half-man, half-animal figures.

Kome Cave Dwellings

Do you want to view cave dwellings sculpted from mud beneath a rock overhang? You will find these at Kome Caves. Referred to as Ha Kome in Sesotho, it is near Mateka village. Since 1824, the same Basia and Bataung clans have continuously lived in them. Today, they still keep sheep and cattle as their people did centuries ago.  You can begin by visiting the Ha Kome Visitors Centre where the heritage of these settlements is highlighted.

Sani Pass – the highest pub in Africa

Another must do with a 4×4 vehicle is to drive through the gravel Sani Pass. Why? A reason could be because it is the highest pub in Africa – measuring up to 2874m. Moreover, it provides awesome switchbacks and steep climbs that extend up to 1500m in just 20km. You get to experience varying temperatures as it is cooler near the top than at the bottom. However, the climb can slow to a crawl sometimes. Sometimes too, visibility may reduce with the presence of mist and the road may get slippery when wet. However, there are refreshing stops at the Sani Mountain Lodge at the top of the pass. Get a drink and celebrate your visit to Lesotho, the kingdom in the sky.

Giant Dinosaur Footprints

The Lesothosaurus diagnosticus is a 2m-long omnivorous lizard whose 200 million year old footprint might interest you. Feed your paleontological interests by checking out the impressive number of giant dinosaur footprints in areas like Liphofung, Morija, Quthing and Tsikoane.

Sehlabathebe National Park

Another place you need a 4×4 or a pony to visit is Sehlabathebe National Park. It is located in the Maloti Mountains in south-eastern Lesotho. With an average altitude of 2400m, you get to sight some rare birds (like the bearded vulture), mongoose, jackals and baboons. The variety is interesting because you can find rock art in more than 60 sites, rivers, and waterfalls. The park is great for pony-trekking, hiking, wilderness camping and trout fishing.

Other winding passes in Lesotho

Would you not want to tell others that you have driven through the Gates of Paradise? What about the “Pass of Jackals” or the “God Help Me Pass”? These are some names of the nine fascinating mountain passes in Lesotho. You could try the challenging Mafika Lisiu climb which extends to 3090m in less than 30km. Other interesting passes are Moteng Pass between Butha Buthe and Oxbow and Mafika Lisiu Pass which is along the route to Katse. Remarkably, Moteng Pass has up to 91 bends and a gradient ratio of 1:5 in some places. Remember to take in the marvelous view from the top and snap pictures.