Lesotho

Lesotho is a country in Southern Africa. Known as the Kingdom in the Sky because of its lofty altitude — it has the highest lowest point of any country in the world (1400m) and is the only country to be entirely above 1000m! Lesotho is totally landlocked by South Africa and is a fantastic adventure holiday destination.

Lesotho’s high altitude (the entire country lies above 1000m) and stunning mountainous landscape have earned it the moniker “Kingdom of the Sky”. And a lack of motorways and fences make this sky kingdom the perfect place to explore. You can trek, horse-ride or mountain bike in whichever direction you like – just make you get the local chief’s permission when you stop off in the villages.

Maletsunyane Falls in the Lesotho highlands it is Southern Africa's highest single drop waterfall.If you're very adventurous you could also do the world's highest commercial abseil off the 200m high cliff! It is located close to Semonkong.

* Morija a quaint little town with the great Morija Museum and dinosaur footprints of the Lesothosaurus

* Katse Dam the stunning 185m dam wall is part of a larger water scheme to sell water to South Africa and produce electricity for Lesotho. The beauty of this award-winning feat of engineering is eclipsed, however, by the surrounding mountains and rural countryside.

* Thaba Bosiu the mountain stronghold where the great warrior and diplomat King Moeshoeshoe the Great established the Kingdom of Lesotho, fighting off wave after wave of attacks by white settlers and hostile African armies. Still today, the Kings and Queens of Lesotho are buried here.

* Tsehlanyane National Park - only one of two national parks in Lesotho, and makes up an integral part of the greater Maloti/Drankensberg Transfrontier Park

Temperatures plummet at night, particularly in the highlands. Make sure you bring extra warm layers of clothing, no matter what time of year you visit. Better still, buy a patterned Basotho blanket, which provides very effective protection against the cold.

Visitors are few, and the locals are friendly, so always respond to attempts to speak to you.

The weather is at its best in spring (August to October) and autumn (February to April) but can be changeable at any time of the year. Most of Lesotho’s rain falls in its summer (November to January), turning its dirt tracks into mudslides. During winter (May-August) snow falls on the highlands and it can get extremely cold at night.

Restaurant food is usually meat served with chips although fish is widely available. Vegetarians will cope but get bored with canned mixed vegetables. Salads are widely available. You should try papa, the Basotho staple, at least once: made with maize meal, it resembles mashed potatoes.

South African wine is available in restaurants and is excellent value. Local and South African beer is widely available but only the brave should try joala, a traditional brew made from sorghum.

The HIV/Aids incidence rate in Lesotho is one of the highest in the world. As visiting anywhere in the world, do not have unprotected sex.

Consult a doctor as to which vaccinations you will require, but they will most likely include Hep A, Hep B, Rabies, Typhoid. Tropical diseases such as Malaria, Yellow fever and Bilharzia are not present in Lesotho.

If you do have any serious health problems whilst in Lesotho, get in contact with your country's embassy either in Maseru, or in most cases, in Pretoria in South Africa, as there are very good hospitals across the border in South Africa.

Lesotho is at a very high altitude, and the air is very thin especially in the Highlands, be warned that you may suffer from altitude sickness when you first arrive. Drink a lot of water and keep covered up, as it gets very hot in the sun in the summer!

The water in Lesotho is not clean and should not be drunk untreated. Remember Lesotho's air is very dry and everyone will suffer from dry skin.

In the local choir tribes, it turns out they were rehearsing for their afternoon show. Grab a plastic chair and head down to the grass amphitheatre. Above you, the sky will be rolling with thunderclouds threatening to clap. The chorale leader will tell you that all the singers are untrained and have learnt by ear. He blows a tuning whistle and the first lady sings: You will get goosebumps. The choir singers split effortlessly into a four part harmony, singing a welcome song in Basutho. The song that follows steps up the energy and soon they’re clapping and dancing, and you'll be clapping and dancing along with them.

A trip to Lesotho is not complete without getting on a horse. And not just any horse, a pony. Most locals here own a trusty steed because 9/10 times it’s faster to ride a horse than to navigate these mountains.

Traversing the Lesotho landscape from the saddle is incredible. The vistas feel even bigger, you feel even smaller. It’s a welcome new perspective. The ponies know their way around these mountains and they take lead, effortlessly meandering around boulders, across river beds and up gravel tracks. Whenever we get to an expanse of green, the guide gives us free reign to go as fast as we want.

Hope this helped !!!