Mark is a travel writer who grew up in Africa and has written over 700 titles for Condé Nast Traveller, Travel Africa, BBC Wildlife and others.
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What You Lose in Wildlife You Gain (100 Times Over) in Culture
This was my first trip to Lesotho and, while I expected to like it, I didn’t expect to be so completely smitten. Even after almost a month on the road exploring most parts of this tiny country (which could fit into South Africa 40 times!) I still had a hankering to see more.
For somebody who’s drawn so much by Africa’s rich wildlife, it was a revelation – apart from some of the most spellbinding landscapes on the entire continent, it is the wonderfully hospitable and friendly Basotho people who are the main appeal. Spend time travelling in Lesotho and you will make lasting friends. Maliba Lodge (in Ts’ehlanyane National Park) is a highlight and the unforgettably appealing Malealea Lodge, nestled in a spectacular valley beyond the appropriately named Gates of Paradise mountain pass, is the sort of place where you could spend a month and still not want to leave.
I made the slow, steady 22km plod from Sani Top to the 3,482m summit of Thabana Ntlenyana. It took seven hours because, in one of Africa’s friendliest countries, we stopped frequently to converse with shepherds (kitted out in pointed hats and cloak-like blankets). We stopped to gaze up at soaring lammergeier (bearded vultures) and hunkered down in the grass to be on eye level with heartbreakingly cute ‘ice rats’.
Roads have improved incredibly over the last few years and you can spend hours cruising sweeping bends without seeing more than half a dozen vehicles. Other sections can be rough and there’s no shortage of adventure to be had with a 4x4 vehicle, tackling mountain passes and dirt-tracks where third gear constitutes a rare burst of speed.
Perhaps you’d enjoy a sense of unlimited space with pony treks – on sure-footed Basotho ponies – alongside dramatic cascades (and the highest freefall waterfall in southern Africa). Or maybe high-altitude trekking in the only country on the planet that never drops below 1,000m above sea level. If so, then you’re certainly going to be smitten by ‘the Kingdom in the Sky’ too.
