Quthing

Administrative capital of Lesotho’s southernmost district, Quthing is relatively large hillside settlement split between a bustling commercial lower town and more sedate and green residential upper town. Also known as Moyeni (‘Place of Wind’), it was established in 1877 on the south bank of the Silver Spruit shortly before its confluence with the Senqu (Orange) River as it flows towards the border with South Africa.

The town’s main tourist attraction is the Quthing Dinosaur Footprints, which are clearly signposted about 1km along the A4 northeast to Mount Moorosi. Protected in a simple shelter, the site comprises a 200-million-year-old sandstone slab indented with several series of tracks attributed to a bipedal two-metre-long ornithischian dinosaur known as Lesothosauraus, which had three toes on each foot and an omnivorous diet.

The intriguing Masitise Cave House, built in 1866 by the French missionary DF Ellenberger, is a three-room brick-front home built into a deep overhang below an aloe-studded rock outcrop five kilometres west of Quthing. Now a museum, it includes some interesting displays on San rock art and the early days of Quthing and the mission, which is still operational today. Other features of the cave house include a freshwater pool fed by a natural spring, a 200-million-year-old negative dinosaur footprint in the ceiling, and the carved rock bench where Ellenberger held a historic meeting with Governor Philip Wodehouse of the Cape Colony in 1869, one that helped persuade the latter to treat the Quthing area as part of protectorate that eventually become Lesotho. The spring water from the cave feeds an extensive hillside forest of indigenous trees supplemented by a few exotics reputedly planted by Ellenberger. Birdlife is plentiful.

Quthing is the closest large town to Mount Moorosi, which lies 40km to the northeast along a scenic stretch of the A4 that offers some grandstand views over the spectacular Senqu River Gorge, and it is also a viable base for a day trip to beautiful Lake Letsie and the superb Tsatsane Valley Bushman Paintings.

Travel Tips

Sleeping: There are a few small hotels and guesthouses in Quthing.

Eating: A handful of local-style eateries can be found in the main road through Quthing’s lower town.

Access: Quthing lies about 175km south of Maseru, a three-hour drive along the A2 that passes through Morija and close to Malealea Lodge. Plenty of public transport runs along this road.

Preparations: Masitise Cave House is open from 8.30am to 5pm, Mon-Fri but closes at 2pm over weekends.