Lesotho Things to Do

 
by CatherineReichardt
 
  •   Things to Do
    by CatherineReichardt
  •   Things to Do
    by CatherineReichardt
  •   Things to Do
    by CatherineReichardt
  •   Things to Do
    by CatherineReichardt
  •   Things to Do
    by CatherineReichardt
 
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The grave of King Moshoeshoe II

by CatherineReichardt

Following in the footsteps of a famous namesake is always a difficult feat, and perhaps in recognition of this fact, it took nearly a century for a Basotho leader to be named after the legendary Moshoeshoe I.There is an odd sense of symmetry that one Moshoeshoe lead Basotholand into the British Empire, whereas the next Moshoeshoe lead his country into independence in 1966. However, his reign was a troubled one, and included being exiled on two separate occasions, stripped of constitutional power and eventually being deposed by his own son.The depth of Lesotho's Catholic roots is indicated by the fact that Moshoeshoe II was educated at Ampleforth, arguably England's premier Catholic public (fee paying) school, and during his time there, he developed some very Anglophile tendancies and a liking for the life of an English country gentleman. He was made paramount chief in 1960 but unlike the...

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Mamohato spring: the secret of Thaba Bosiu

by CatherineReichardt

Oh my, this is just the sort of thing I love discovering on my travels!King Moshoeshoe chose the flat mountain of Thaba Bosiu as his fortress because it was so easily defensible and commanded a view across the surrounding lowlands across which his enemies were likely to advance. All very well and good, but in terms of long term sieges, you can only hold out as long as your water supply ... and common sense would indicate that the water is in the valleys, not on top of the mountains.Except of course, if your fortress has a perennial water supply of its own, and it turns out that Thaba Bosui has exactly this. The Mamohato spring issues forth from a slope at the top of the eastern side of the mountain and although it has a fairly small yield (only a couple of litres a second), it was enough to sustain Moshoeshoe, his small court and their livestock during the periods that they were...

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Take a stiff hike up Thaba Bosiu

by CatherineReichardt

Thaba Bosiu can only be accessed the traditional way - a stiff hike up a cleft in the cliffs which is located directly opposite the new cultural centre. It will probably take you at least half an hour, depending on your fitness, and the path is quite exposed, so make sure that you are equipped with suitable footwear, sunscreen and water and referably try to avoid hiking in the middle of the day when the sun is at its strongest.For guidance on how the less than fit can sneak an extra rest on the way up without losing face, read my tip on onion skin weathering!

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The new cultural village at Thabo Bosiu

by CatherineReichardt

When we visited Thaba Bosiu in January 2012, they were just putting the finishing touches to a new cultural village which will hopefully boost tourism into this area. It is clearly a massive investment - the largest tourist development in Lesotho to date - and the publicity blurb states that it "will comprise chalets, a restaurant and bar, curio shop, botanical garden, museum, conference venue, amphitheatre and a cultural village showing ancient Basotho life. It will showcase Basotho traditional food, clothes and various dances and songs with a statue of Moshoeshoe I".The complex will feature 40 rondavels (thatched huts), which will be a welcome development for travellers wanting to visit Thaba Bosui but who don't necessarily want to base themselves in hotels in and around Maseru (the only real option to date). Certainly from what we saw, it promises to be spectacular: however, as with...

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Pay your respects at the graves of Basotho royalty

by CatherineReichardt

Up front, I should confess my bias - I am a complete sucker for a good graveyard, especially when it's in a scenic location and exudes a powerful sense of history, so this was always going to be a winner!The royal family of Lesotho - from the legendary Moshoeshoe I, who first pulled the nation together in the early 19th century onwards - are buried on top of the imposing mountain fortress of Thaba Bosiu. With very few exceptions, their graves are marked by simple hummocks of rock - probably designed as much to prevent animals scavanging the corpses as for ornamental purposes - which gives them an organic feel that is very much at one with the landsape.It's worth bearing in mind that the Basotho retreated to Thaba Bosiu to seek refuge from marauding neighbours, but once peace was restored, most of the population returned to farm on the lowlands which have much richer soils. Thus, most of...

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Admire the carpet of alpine flowers at Sani Top

by CatherineReichardt

Summer in the mountains of Lesotho (which is to say, most of it!) is a short, relatively cool affair, but the plants take full advantage of the comparatively warm conditions to burst into flower.The unusually flat plateau that surrounds Sani Top was carpeted with gorgeous alpine flowers when we visited in early January. The plants flourish in hollows between boulders which are relatively protected from the wind, and you could spend happy hours wandering around admiring their exquisite delicacy, which is all the more striking when juxtaposed against the harshness of the landscape.

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Carpets of red hot pokers will astound you!

by CatherineReichardt

... despite the alarming title, this was anything but a painful experience!We travelled across Lesotho in early January at the height of the Southern Hemisphere summer. Living in South Africa, I am used to seeing red hot pokers (Kniphofia) - also known by the less graphic but equally enchanting name of of 'torch lilies' - growing in the wild. However, I was astounded when we turned a corner on a mountain pass and were confronted by a blazing spectacle of red, orange and yellow carpeting the mountainside. Never have I seen them growing together in such profusion, and the spectacle was jawdroppingly beautiful and all the more impressive for being totally unexpected.Best of all? Red hot poker nectar is one of the preferred foods of the sunbird - the local (somewhat larger) equivalents of humming birds - so the flowers were alive with activity. These hyperactive little birds are utterly...

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In Lesotho, you're never as alone as you think ...

by CatherineReichardt

Compared to other more populous parts of the world, there's a whole lot of nothingness in Lesotho - but that doesn't necessarily mean that you're always as alone as you think you are ...Even in the most remote of mountain areas, there are always cattle herds tending the free ranging livestock, and they have the most unnerving ability to materialise out of nowhere. Because they are camouflaged in brown blankets and balaclavas, you often don't realise they're there ... and in this case, it was only when I was peering at my photos to select the best one for upload that I spotted the silhouetted figure on the horizon ...

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Woolsheds in the most unexpected places

by CatherineReichardt

Lesotho is not a country that's big on built structures: even in the few towns, structures tend to be modest, single storey affairs. The villages are dominated by rondavels - circular huts with sturdy stone walls and thatched roofs - and utilitarian rectangular structures that serves as shops, clinics, schools or churches.In the rural areas, the only exception to the rule are the woolsheds which are used for the shearing of sheep and angora goats. Their most distinctive features are their corrugated iron roofs - usually secured with strategically placed boulders to hold down the roofing sheets in high winds - which reflect sunlight and often make them visible from kilometres away over the otherwise empty landscape.

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Stunning sandstone overhangs on the Moteng Pass

by CatherineReichardt

Lesotho has two very different landscapes: the (relative) lowlands along the western border with South Africa, and the soaring Maluti mountains of the central and eastern portions of the Kingdom.As with most landscapes, the key to this striking difference is the underlying geology. The western area is underlain by honey coloured sandstone of the Clarens formation, which weathers to form rounded peaks with distinctive overhangs such as the one pictured above, which is located on the beautiful Moteng Pass. These formations were particularly significant for the San (Bushman), who used these overhangs for shelter, and who took advantage of the pale 'canvas' of this backdrop to adorned many of these caves with vibrant rock paintings depicting their hunter/gatherer way of life.The Clarens sandstone is overlain by Drakensberg basalt, a dark coloured lava which was laid down on top of the older...

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Fun things to do in Lesotho

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