Lesotho's rugged interior boasts the country's two trademark sights: the breathtaking Maletsunyane Falls (204m), which are almost twice the height of the Victoria Falls and offer the world's longest commercially operated, single-drop abseil; and the human-made spectacle of Katse Dam, an engineering feat holding a shimmering lake surrounded by rippling mountain slopes. The area offers an incredible mix of scenery, activities and engineering marvels, accessed from the lowlands up tortuous but stunning passes such as the excellently named God Help Me Pass (2281m) and the Mafika-Lisiu Pass (3090m), one of Lesotho's most beautiful roads.
The Lesotho Central Highlands are a mountainous region in the eastern and central part of Lesotho, forming part of the broader Drakensberg and Maloti mountain ranges. These highlands are characterized by their high altitude, rugged terrain, and stunning natural beauty, making them a popular destination for hiking, pony trekking, and other outdoor activities.
Here's a more detailed look:
Geography:
The highlands are a dissected plateau extending from the Drakensberg escarpment in the east to the Maloti Mountains in the west.
Altitude:
Lesotho is the only country in the world entirely above 1,000 meters (3,281 feet), with the majority of the country situated above 2,000 meters (6,562 feet).
Key Features:
The region is known for its dramatic mountain passes, including Mafika Lisiu Pass, and the Maletsunyane Falls, the highest waterfall in southern Africa.
Tourism:
The Lesotho Highlands Water Project, while primarily an infrastructure project, has also opened up the region to tourists by providing access roads and other infrastructure.
Activities:
Popular activities include hiking, pony trekking, and experiencing the unique culture of the mountain villages.
Climate:
The highlands experience cooler temperatures than lower regions at the same latitude, with snow more common in the higher peaks between May and September.
The best border crossings to reach this area are at the Maseru Bridge, Ficksburg or Caledonspoort. The main Mountain Road from Maseru takes you east via Molimo Nthuse to Mantsonyane and Thaba-Tseka, while from Hlotse the main Highlands Water Project road takes you past Pitseng and Ha Lejone to the Katse Dam Wall and Bokong.
Ha Baroana Rock Paintings
Some 5.5 km along a gravel road north of the main Mountain Road, and 39 km east of Maseru, is a vantage point over the Liphiring Stream facing an overhanging rock called Ha Baroana – the home of the bushmen. Here the San have left us a magnificent gallery of paintings of animals such as leopard, lion and eland, as well as blue crane and guinea fowl.
There are also fine paintings of bushman life – hunting, dancing, and people in huts. From the main vantage-point, a trail zigzags down past the curator’s huts to the stream, which visitors have to cross to gain access to the paintings.
Nearby accommodation
Katse Lodge
Molimo Nthuse
Enjoy the facilities of one of the principal pony-trekking centres of Lesotho, with a comfortable and old-established mountain lodge nearby. The lodge reflects typical Lesotho designs, with a circular, conical-roofed main building thatched in the traditional way.
The Pony-trekking Centre is operated by the Ministry of Agriculture, and provides excellent ponies and guides. There are around 80 ponies, about half owned by the Centre and half by local people. The Centre offers a wide selection of treks with possibilities ranging from a couple of hours, for those with only a little time or unsure of their horse-riding abilities, to several days with exciting treks visiting several waterfalls, local villages and other scenic attractions.
Nearby accommodation
Molimo Nthuse Lodge
The Mountain Passes
The road to Molimo Nthuse takes you over a series of major mountain passes before reaching Thaba-Tseka, each offering superb vistas of mountain peaks, steep gorges, tumbling streams and broad valleys. Bearded Vultures and other unusual montane birds can often be seen from the pass summits. This is one of the most attractive tourist routes in Lesotho.
Nearby accommodation
Marakabei Lodge
Matika Lisiu Pass
The top of this particular pass has a spectacular vantage-point from the car park facing down a dramatic deep valley towards Pitseng, and fine views in the other direction across the high plateau towards Ha Lejone.
This area is renowned for seeing Bearded Vulture, and several other unusual montane birds are often in evidence, including Orange-breasted Rockjumper, as well as an attractive marmot-like rodent (Otomys sloggetti) called locally an Ice Rat, which is endemic and found only at altitudes above 2000m.
Malibamatso Bridge across the Katse Dam, near Ha Lejone
There is a fine vantage-point towards the elegant new Bridge which crosses the northern end of Lake Katse and the Intake Tower, and across the Lake itself. The Lake is full and is very impressive. It will be a major centre for watersports in the future, and will have a range of comfortable accommodation in the area for tourists. Please ask the Lesotho Tourist Board for the latest news.
The area is also a wonderful place for bird watchers, and is notable for the numbers of small montane birds — thrushes and buntings, principally — which are present.
Ha Seshote
The road to the Katse Dam rises and turns away from the lake for some distance beyond the Malibamatso Bridge before returning to the lake at the Katse Dam near Bokong. The area is important for bird-watching enthusiasts as it maintains a significant number of Bald Ibis, which often follow farmers as they cultivate their fields.
Katse Dam and Dam Wall
This centrepiece of the whole Highlands Water project, is a fine piece of engineering, retaining what is a dam second in size in Africa only to the Lake Volta Akosombo Dam in Ghana.
The surrounding scenery is magnificent, and the construction work in this area will be completed soon. However, this does not detract from the magnificent panoramas, and is often of great interest to visitors.
The current lodge is primarily reserved for the engineers who are working on the dam. However, it will be converted to tourist use in a year to two, and should then be of a similar size (about 15 rooms) and standard to Mmelesi Lodge at Thaba-Bosiu. The view from the front of the lodge is spectacular, and is even better when the water levels are at their highest.
This area of the Katse Lake will also be devoted to water sports, motorboats ply across the lake rather picturesquely, carrying villagers from one side of the lake to the other, and boating for recreation has already been introduced.
For visitors, there is an interpretative centre, which features a model of the whole project and all its phases, with a commentary in English.
Nearby accommodation
Katse Dam Lodge
