Places to Visit in Lesotho
Check out must-see sights and activities:
Maluti Mountains, Maletsunyane Falls Semonkong, Safaris, Mountains.
Maluti Mountains, Maletsunyane Falls Semonkong, Safaris, Mountains.
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Mountains
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What travellers are saying
- kate2 contributionsMany years ago when living in South Africa, Cape Town (a very beautiful city) I went with my family to visit a Doctor friend who worked for the British Colonial Service based in Lesotho (formerly Basutoland). He was the only Doctor for a very large area, one morning he was contacted by the police to travel to a nearby village to certify the death of a man who had been stabbed to death. My husband and I decided to go with him and see some of the country. When we got to the top of the Sani Pass we were able to look over the Maluti Mountain Range, the sight was breathtaking, I had never seen anything so staggeringly beautiful! I have travelled to every country in Europe (with the exception of Greece), been to the Grand Canyon, Buenos Aires, Cape Aghulas (the Southernmost tip of Africa) , England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, too many US states to list. In Canada as far North as Kashachewan, as far West as Calgary, As far South as Niagara Falls, and as far East as Quebec>Written 27 January 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- KimberlyP17Washington DC, DC99 contributionsSeveral week work trip to Maseru, so decided to venture to Maletsunyane Falls. Hired a driver (which is a very good idea) who took me to Semonkong Lodge (also good idea). From the Lodge, you can hike out about 45 mins to the Falls. It's a moderate hike, but there are some steep areas. If you are reasonably fit, you can manage. If you not, for the same amount of time, you can have a guide with a horse (500 rand). The walk is great but completely unmarked. I was by myself but found a super nice Dutch family, who spoke some Basotho. I'm glad I did; otherwise, you may want to consider a guide. There is NOTHING to purchase on the walk, so make sure you bring water and some snacks if you need them. Otherwise, you can come back to Semonkong Lodge for a bite. The Lodge itself is super pleasant and charming and you'll find other travellers there. There are some who drive out directly to the Falls, but the road is really poorly developed and you'd need a 4x4. Therefore, I really recommend the above path. Finally, the Falls are so beautiful; you won't want to miss this.Written 21 October 2023This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Gideon EllisClarens, South Africa222 contributionsThe Katse Dam in Lesotho is HUGE! It is much bigger than I ever could have imagined.
I knew that the Katse Dam, in its day the engineering project of the decade, was an enormous undertaking. But today, here where I am actually standing next to the dam and looking at the massive dam wall (the highest in Africa) and the deep lake it has created in the mountains, I realised that the surface of the mass of water that I see here is only a minute part of this construction achievement of what is known as the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP).
The LHWP transfers water from the Lesotho Highlands via an incredible network of dams and tunnels to eventually release the water at the As River outfall, just outside Clarens in the Free State Province of South Africa.
Water from the Katse dam is transferred by a 4 m diameter tunnel over a distance of 45 km to the Muela hydropower station and dam. Muela’s high elevation allows a gravity flow water delivery system to South Africa to be released at the As River outfall.
From the As River outfall in the Free State, water flows along the Liebenbergsvlei River and into the Wilge River and finally into the Vaal Dam. From there, water is transferred to the Gauteng Metropolis of Soweto, Johannesburg and Pretoria, supplementing the water supply of South Africa’s industrial heartland in the Witwatersrand.
When completed, the Lesotho Highlands Water Project will eventually include five large dams in remote rural areas of Lesotho. It is easy to understand why in the 1990’s when this was under construction, this was the biggest engineering project in the southern hemisphere. The Katse Dam is a crucial part (the back-bone) of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. The extent of the Katse Dam project is impressive and simply fascinating leaving me speechless!
We visited the Katse Dam in Lesotho during the end of April 2023. Departing from Clarens, we cleared customs at Caledonspoort 9 km outside Fouriesburg. Once inside Lesotho, we had to pay toll gate fees but since Lesotho is included in the Common Monetary Area with South Africa, SA rand was accepted.
We travelled towards Butha-Buthe and then Hlotse, the headquarters of the Leribe district, where we left the A1 and turned onto the A8. This is a very scenic road and we passed many small villages on our way to Katse. However, the tarred road between Hlotse and Pitseng was not in a good condition and we had to drive cautiously through many dangerous potholes.
From Pitseng, a fairly big town at the foot of the Maloti Mountains, we continued on the A8 towards Lejone. Being our first time in Lesotho, we stopped many times to take pictures and to enjoy the breath-taking nature of the mountains of the country. The one view-point not to be missed, is the viewpoint on the top of the Mafika Lisiu pass (3090 m). This allows magnificent and spectacular views of the Maloti Mountains and the close-by Bokong Nature Reserve. Stunning and unbelievable!
We stopped to chat with a herd boy next to the road He was on his way to his home in a tiny village not far from where we met him. He was friendly and agreed for us to take a picture of him in his traditional clothes which included a blanket and gum-boots. Basotho men wearing gum-boots dates back to the fact that many of them are migrant mine workers in South Africa.
From Lejone it was already possible to see some of the waters of the Katse Dam. We also saw some fish-farms in the dam.
As we continued our journey in a southern direction, the road staying close to the Malibamatso River and the dam, we reached Mamohau. A long concrete bridge crosses the dam from the western side and took us to Mphorosane, on the eastern side of the dam.
We drove in breath-taking beautiful nature, passing many small villages and people.
We continued on the A8 to Seshote, which lies more inland from the dam. Continuing southwards, we left the Leribe district and entered the Thaba-Tseka district. We were now very close to where the Katse Dam wall was constructed in the Malibamat’so River in the Lesotho Highlands.
And then we arrived at the site where the dam wall of the magnificent Katse Dam was constructed! Katse Dam is one of the most spectacular, if not the most spectacular, of all water features in Lesotho.
The Katse Dam is an arch-dam constructed from concrete. The dam was constructed in the Malibamat’so River in Lesotho just below the confluence of the Bokong River. The Bokong River forms the western arm of the Katse reservoir. Katse is at an elevation of 1 993 m above sea level making it the highest elevation dam in Africa.
The dam wall is a double-curved arch; it curves from side-to-side as well as from top-to-bottom. The wall is 185 m high (second tallest in Africa), 60 m wide at the base and 9 m wide at top. Length of the wall is 710 m.
Katse dam is one of only 30 double-curved concrete arch dam walls in the world. Katse is the second largest double-curvature arch-dam in Africa. Katse is also one of the world’s ten largest concrete arch-dams in terms of volume.
A moveable joint in the dam’s base allows it to flex and the dam’s behaviour is monitored by precision laser instruments inside the dam wall.
Using 2.32 million cubic metres of concrete, the wall was built over a period of six years. During the construction phase, every 40 minutes a truckload of cement and fly ash, transported by road from Ficksburg, was delivered.
Katse dam has a capacity of 1.95 billion cubic metres and a surface area of 38.5 square kilometres.
The dam was completed in 1996 and the reservoir filled with water by 1997. Water delivery officially began on 22 January 1998. The dam currently supplies about 30 cubic metres per second of water to South Africa. The total cost of the project was US$8 billion.
During our visit to Katse Dam, the Visitor’s Centre was closed and the Katse Village was also not accessible due to maintenance work being in progress.
Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we did not do the Katse Dam Wall tour to get to the inside of the dam wall, nor the Botanical Garden tour.Written 22 May 2023This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - FamilytravelKaohsiung, Taiwan74 contributionsMountain at Night is the "English" translation, as the Basothos believe the mountain grew during the night, once was a natural fortress. This was once Lesotho Capital, it is close to Maseru the Capital, very easy access via road- good condition road to get there. One can hike or mountain bike to the top, the hike was easy, and it is absolutely beautiful view of Lesotho, with mountain range, one can image that Free State was part of Lesotho. Easy to visit without a tour guild.Written 25 August 2019This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- FunambulatorThe Rocks, Australia1,939 contributionsRough and bumpy drive up the road to Malealea and the Gates of Paradise (1800–2000m elevation). Pony trekking on the Basuto ponies sounded good but too vigorous for us so we spent our time up on the mountains doing a tour of the Malealea village, visited a few local homes-cum-shops, buying some handicrafts and knick-knacks, tasted a few of the local beverage concoctions, non-alcoholic and alcoholic. Also had a demonstration of Malealea villagers’ cooking facilities – open air, baked earth very basic cooktop with zero frills! Interesting arrangement with terminology: though the country is called “Lesotho” the people are called “Basotho” and the language spoken is called “Sesotho”! The Basotho locals we met were friendly but mostly a bit on the shy side. Rains quite a lot in these parts and given the altitude the weather was quite cool. A local Basotho choir and band performs in the afternoons.Written 21 August 2023This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Marc DerveeuwOstend, Belgium406 contributionsThe dam is one of the three dams in Lesotho. Impressive! The dam can be visited by just walking around or take a trip on one of the boats. Go to the information center for clarity. The hotel and lodge are OK, but still acceptable standards.You have not been to Lesotho without visiting this dam.Written 27 January 2020This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Isaac khambule9 contributionsTo be in Katse Dam pass the Bokong bridge was exceptional for the members that I was Traveling with BSWWritten 8 July 2023This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- JamesFFCMaidenhead, UK611 contributionsThe cost is 30r or cheaper if you are a student, Lesotho national or child. The museum itself is small but there were some interesting exhibits covering the colonial era as well as some traditional cooking appliances and information about the Basotho people. The information display boards are in both English and Sesotho.
There was also a pizza resraurant in the grounds of the museum as well as 'The Hub' an interesting looking initiative that has free internet access, a library, computers and numerous workshops for 100r per year. It seemed very popular when I visited!
They do (rarely for rural Lesotho) take card in the museum itself as well as selling postcards of Lesotho. There are toilet facilities in the museum. Worth an hour or so of your time!Written 16 July 2019This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - LydsLondon, UK459 contributionsWe went to Sefika shopping centre first which was a nightmare, couldn’t work out how to get into the car park and was so busy it was chaos! So decided to go to Pioneer instead! Much more straight forward. Had everything we needed.Written 14 November 2019This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Anne B2 contributionsOnly a few houses to see but the guide was good and fun. Do not expect too much. It is not worth a long driveWritten 8 December 2023This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- IreneNetherlands19 contributionsThis mountain gives you some really nice view on Capetown and it's Tablemountain. The hike up takes you about 1 hour and you can choose the easy route or the less easy route, climbing up some rocks and stairs. From the beginning untill the end of your hike you'll be surrounded with amazing viewsWritten 31 January 2023This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Marc DerveeuwOstend, Belgium406 contributionsNot sure how to review this place and was wondering if it has ever functioned since it opened. The National museum should reflect the pride of the country, this place is not even close to Maseru, isolated and close to being forgotten in a couple of years.Written 22 August 2022This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
