Hiking and Trekking

It is no exaggeration to describe Lesotho as a hiker’s paradise. There are practically no restrictions on hiking through the kingdom’s unfenced highlands, soaking up the spectacular scenery and enjoying the unforced hospitality of its rural inhabitants as you follow a network of informal bridle paths forged over the centuries by Sotho horsemen and shepherds.

Inexperienced hikers seeking accessible and well-marked trails are pointed to Ts'ehlanyane National Park, where a good network of footpaths - ranging from the short and flat Lower Trail to the Black Pool to a demanding Circular Trail past the lovely Matsa Mararo Falls - emanates out of the upmarket Maliba Lodge, which can supply a suitable map or local guide by request.

A more remote but equally straightforward goal for hikers is Sehlabathebe National Park, Here, guides are optionally available to explore a network of trails that traverses a spectacular landscape of rock arches, highland pools and ancient bushman paintings set below the lofty peaks known as the Devil’s Knuckles.

For dedicated peak-baggers, guides are available at Sani Top for the nine-hour round hike to Thabana Ntlenyana, whose 3,482-metre summit is the highest point anywhere in Africa south of Kilimanjaro. An equally beautiful but less demanding four- to five-hour round hike leads from Sani Top to Hodgson’s Peaks, offering some wonderful views over the escarpment along the way.

Other recommended destinations for relatively undemanding guided or unguided day hikes include Semonkong, where you can walk to a viewpoint facing the single-drop 192-metre Maletsunyane Falls or follow a steeper footpath to the gorge below it, and Malealea Lodge, which offers hikes to various waterfalls and rock art sites. Hiking trails out of Afriski Mountain Resort range from around two hours to a full day in duration.

For more dedicated hikers, it is possible to hike the entire eastern Drakensberg escarpment from Mont-aux-Sources in the northwest to Sehlabathebe National Park in the southeast, seldom dropping below 3,000 metres in the process. Particularly recommended is the 40km, 3-day hike along the sensational section of escarpment connecting Sani Top to Sehlabathebe. Guides are available at Sani Top if required, but experienced and self-sufficient hikers with suitable maps and provisions can undertake it as an unguided trek.

Because most of Lesotho lies well above the 2,000-metre, it offers ideal high-altitude training to hikers planning to tackle loftier targets such as Mount Kilimanjaro. It should be noted, however, that weather conditions in the mountains tend to be fickle, and mist, rain, hail and even snow can descend with little warning at any time of year. Overnight hikers should be in possession of good walking shoes, a warm sleeping bag, plenty of warm and waterproof clothing, detailed maps, and sufficient food and water. Camping is permitted anywhere in the kingdom and it is also often possible for hikers who don’t carry a tent to rent a hut in a local Basotho village.