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Popular Off the Beaten Path | Other Off the Beaten Path Tips | All Tips (21) Run by its Lesotho-born owners, Mick and Di Jones, Malealea Lodge offers accommodation in restored farmhouse buildings and new en-suite bedrooms and rondavels. From the lodge, guests can experience all that Lesotho has to offer. Various excursions including hiking, horse treks and 4x4 excursions are organised.
These excursions range from one day to six days or longer and are tailor-made to suit the requirements of guests. Horse treks and hikes, overnighting in Basotho villages, traverse spectacular mountain passes and some of Lesotho’s highest waterfalls.
Basotho guides and pack-horses accompany the treks. Visits to craft centres, Basotho villages and a traditional sangoma are also arranged. A local band and choir, using their own home-made instruments, entertain guests in the evening. Leave a Comment
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Semonkong Lodge lies in the heart of Lesotho, nestling on the banks of the Maletsunyane River. The lodge is an ideal base to explore the remote Maluti Mountains, its people, alpine flowers, rare birds and wild trout fishing.
The stone-and-thatch accommodation offers a balance between civilisation and rustic elegance. The lodge has en suite rooms, backpackers’ dormitories, camping and a restaurant.
Activities include pony-trekking on sure-footed Basotho ponies, hiking to the Maletsunyane Falls, one of the highest straight-dropping waterfalls in Southern Africa, and abseiling 206 metres into the gorge. Overnight pony treks and hikes offer the opportunity to spend the night in a Basotho village. Leave a Comment
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Far off on the horizon, as you wander along your Drakensberg Traverse, your gaze falls upon a group of small buildings built atop a mountain in the literal middle of nowhere. This is the famous diamond mine of Letseng-La-Terral which was re-opened in 2004. Monster diamonds have come out from here - in 1967 a 601 carat stone was found; in 2006, a 603 carat diamond (Lesotho Promise) put smiles on all concerned here with the diamond selling, uncut, for some US$12.36 million. September 8, 2008, a new monster of some 478 carats was discovered, which the mine thinks has the potential to yielding a round-cut stone of some 150 carats - one of the largest round-cut stones of all time. All in all, this is the World’s highest diamond mine (3100 meters) and the mine with the highest dollar ratio per carat of any diamond mine - World average is US$70/carat but Letseng’s average in 2004 was over US$1000/carat - meaning they pull some big diamonds out of here. The mine is the 7th largest in the World. Visitors are probably not welcome, I’m guessing?! Leave a Comment
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As you walk across the mountains of the upper Drakensberg reaches on your Grand Traverse, the Worl of Lesotho looks completely empty. Look again, only harder. Hidden away in most little valleys, you will come across little huts with stone kralls nearby. Most of the time, the huts will be empty. The huts can be difficult to see much of the time the way they blend into the mountainsides. Leave a Comment
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Some 5.5 km along a gravel road north of the main Mountain Road, and 39 km east of Maseru, is a vantage point over the Liphiring Stream facing an overhanging rock called Ha Baroana - the home of the bushmen. Here the San have left us a magnificent gallery of paintings of animals such as leopard, lion and eland, as well as blue crane and guineafowl.
There are also fine paintings of bushman life - hunting, dancing, and people in huts. From the main vantage-point, a trail zigzags down past the curator’s huts to the stream, which visitors have to cross to gain access to the paintings. Leave a Comment
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The Lesotho border post is at Sani Top, then the road drops down the torturous zig-zags of the Sani Pass as the road descends from the mountain plateau down the Drakensberg mountains and into the South African province of KwaZulu Natal. The Sani Pass was originally a bridle trail for pack animals and was opened up to vehicle transport in the 1950's.
The hair-raising pioneering of this route was done by Mokhotlong Motor Transport, a company still operating tours from its base at the bottom of the pass. In the early days, there were several bends where 3 point turns were needed to get around. Today, the road is better, although it is still only open to four wheel drive vehicles ascending. Although the descent can be made an ordinary vehicle, it is not recommended. The South African border post is 8km from the top of the pass, and one reaches Sani Lodge a further 16km on the right. A further 19km brings one to the town of Underberg.
The Sani Pass is the gateway to Lesotho’s Roof of Africa circuit that links the spectacular scenery of the Drakensberg with the attractions of Northern Lesotho, as well as South Africa’s Golden Gate National Park via Caledonspoort or Monontsa Pass. Leave a Comment
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Approximately ninety minutes hike from the village of Ribaneng in the Thaba Putsoa region and you find these wonderful waterfalls. Just under 100m high with a cool pool at the base. The path to the falls involves a bit of fighting your way through bushes and the rocks on the approach to the falls are slippery .. take care. Leave a Comment
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Just about anywhere you go outside the towns is off the beaten track. Many villages are not accessible by road and can only be reached on foot or on horseback. You will not meet many other tourists. Leave a Comment
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THE HIGH POINT OF LESOTHO IS THABANA-NTLENYANA, WHICH CAN BE DONE IN ONE DAY FROM SANI TOP CHALET (THE HIKE IS EITHER 12 OR 15 KILOMETERS, ONE WAY). ELEVATION IS 11,424 FEET (3482 METERS). HERE IS A STORY OF A CLIMB FROM THE WEB: Malefiloane, Kingdom of Lesotho, Africa: At 8,300 feet the airstrip clings high to the side of a mountain. The local clinic has two horses - 'Ambulance' and 'Patient.' This is the only means of transport in the mountains other than by foot. Claytor sets off on a quest for Thabana Ntlenyana - the highest point in Southern Africa and the summit of the Drakensberg. He is given the 'Ambulance', since it is far more fit for the journey than the 'Patient'. After five hours and many mountain villages, The two arrive in the tiny village of Ha Ranini; there are five huts. Claytor's command of the Lesotho language is basic, but he is instantly welcomed. 'Ambulance' remains in the tiny kraal, and Claytor begins his ascent. By 3:00 pm, he is standing on the top of the Drakensberg. It is quiet and clear. The light is warm, and an entire treeless world of folding jagged mountains falls away in all directions. There is no more peaceful or powerful place on earth. Leave a Comment
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IT RAINED FREQUENTLY DURING MY TWO DAY STAY IN THE COUNTRY. HENCE, ENHANCED WATERFALLING... Leave a Comment
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on May 25, 2005
on September 23, 2008
on October 5, 2005
on August 18, 2005
on August 25, 2002
