Lesotho Highlights Road Trip
Lesotho is a country of steep roads and high mountain views. This route links Thaba Bosiu and Semonkong with Katse Dam, Afriski and Sani Pass.
Highlights include:
- Learning about King Moshoeshoe I at Thaba Bosiu Cultural Village
- Seeing the inhabited sandstone dwellings at the Kome Caves
- Visiting Semonkong Lodge beside the river
- Abseiling into the gorge at Maletsunyane Falls
- Walking among alpine and medicinal plants at Katse Botanical Garden
- Looking across Katse Dam and its reservoir
- Visiting Afriski high in the Maluti Mountains
- Following the steep switchbacks of Sani Pass
Lesotho road trip from Maseru to Sani Pass (South Africa) (383 km, about 7 hours driving). Plan this trip with Sideroads Africa.
Stops along the way
- Thaba Bosiu Cultural Village: Historic mountain stronghold of King Moshoeshoe I with cultural village, museum exhibits, and views over the birthplace of the Basotho nation.
- Semonkong Lodge: Rustic stone-and-thatch chalets along the riverbank at Semonkong, with a warm pub and restaurant (The Duck and Donkey)
- Maletsunyane Falls abseiling: Guided abseil down the Maletsunyane Falls gorge near Semonkong — one of the longest commercially operated abseils in the world.
- Kome Caves: Living sandstone cave dwellings at Ha Kome — still inhabited, with thatched façades built into the cliff face.
- Afriski Mountain Resort: High-altitude resort in the Maluti Mountains with ski slopes in winter and mountain lodging year-round
- Katse Botanical Garden: Alpine botanical garden in Katse Village (~2,229m) — spiral aloes and Sesotho medicinal plants rescued during Katse Dam construction; among the highest gardens in the southern hemisphere.
- Katse Dam: Africa's second-largest double-curvature arch dam — a highlight of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project with visitor centre and reservoir views.
- Sani Mountain Escape: Stone chalets at the Sani Pass border top, next to the highest pub in Africa
- Sani Pass: Legendary 4x4 climb up the Drakensberg escarpment to the Lesotho border — steep switchbacks and the highest pub in Africa at the summit.