Lesotho Favorite Tips by CatherineReichardt Top 5 Page for this destination

When's the best time to visit Lesotho?

Favorite thing: There is no well defined 'tourist season' in Lesotho, and the time that you choose to visit should largely be dictated by what you intend to do.

Lesotho's climate is tempered by its altitude, and except in the lowlands on the western border, it never gets particularly hot, even in mid summer. Winters are extremely cold, with snow in the higher mountains. Rain occurs mostly during the (Southern Hemisphere) summer months between about October and March and usually falls as shortlived but intense thunderstorms. Follow this link for more detailed climatic information on Maseru (or enter the name of other towns in Lesotho to get an idea of the often significant variation within the country).

If you're planning a self drive trip, then it's probably best to avoid the winter months (May to August) when temperatures are coldest and snow is most likely: having said that, a colleague of mine did the Roof of Africa and Sani Pass to celebrate his 40th birthday in June and loved the experience, frozen waterfalls, river crossings and all!

Those planning to do any sort of extended pony trek would probably be well advised to perhaps consider visiting in spring and autumn, when the weather is relatively warm but there is less chance of rain. From personal experience I can vouch for the fact that there are few things as miserable than spending an entire day in the saddle when you've been caught in a torrential downpour which has soaked you to the skin!

Fishermen are a hardy lot, and so fishing seems to be pretty well a year round activity, except in the depths of winter.

Lesotho is keen to develop a winter sports industry - particularly with the recent demise of the Tiffendal ski resort in the Eastern Cape, which was, until now, the only ski resort in Southern Africa. In recent years, the Afriski resort has been established to the east of Buthe Buthe, which is accessed via the Moteng Pass (which should be accessible to those with 4x4 vehicles in all but the most extreme winter weather). Whilst it lays no claim to being in the same league as the premier Alpine ski resorts of Europe or North America, surely it's got to be worth considering, if only for the novelty value of being able to say that you've been skiing in Africa???

And my personal opinion on the matter? Well, my advice to you would be that the best time to visit Lesotho is as soon as possible, before too many other people discover its charms, so that you can have it pretty well to yourself!

A national animal that doesn't live in the country

Favorite thing: Most of the time a country's choice of national animal is pretty obvious, but in the case of Lesotho, the fact that the crocodile has been awarded this honour is somewhat bewildering!

For one thing, there are no crocodiles in Lesotho. The climate is too cold, and the rivers generally too rocky, shallow and fast flowing to provide the sort of warm, slow moving environment that crocs need to thrive. Granted there are dams, but these are deep, steep sided and freezing cold, and don't provide the shallows and sand banks that crocs relish.

So why on earth choose the crocodile? Well, the best explanation that I've been able to come up with is that one of the tribes that became part of the Basotho nation (the Bamokotleli) when it was pulled together by Mosheoshoe I in the early 19th century were closely related to the Bakoena tribe in Bechuanaland (modern day Botswana), who were known as the 'crocodile people'. This would make sense, as crocodiles are common in Botswana, but it's still a pretty tenuous link.

I'd be fascinated to know if anyone can tell me of other countries whose national animal doesn't exist within its borders ...

Getting to Lesotho in the first place ...

Favorite thing: For fear of stating the obvious, Lesotho is not a mainstream tourist destination, and chances are that if you ask your travel agent to provide you with flight quotes to Maseru, their response will be, "Where?" Once they have confirmed that they indeed heard you correctly and that you really do want to go to Lesotho, you may also find that prices you are quoted seem very high, but take heart, because there are many ways to skin a cat ...

Let's start at the beginning. There are very few international flights directly into Maseru - and the only 'international' flights that do exist are South African Airways flights from OR Tambo International in Johannesburg. The number of passengers wanting to visit Lesotho is simply so small that it isn't worth the big international players servicing the route, so all international visitors will need to transit via somewhere else.

The route to O R Tambo International in Johannesburg is the busiest route into Africa, so there is heaps of competition, and as a result, it should be possible to find a relatively competitive fare with services providers such as South African Airways, Lufthansa or Emirates.

Once you make it to South Africa, the logical course of action might appear to be to catch a connecting flight to Maseru. However, these tend to be relatively expensive (the lack of competition again), and this only gets you to the capital which - with respect - is probably not the part of Lesotho you want to access unless you're picking up an organised tour from here.

Given that the majority of tourists choose to do self drive in Lesotho, the most practical, flexible and cost effective option is to pick up a hire car in Johannesburg and then drive into Lesotho. This is usually much cheaper than hiring a vehicle on arrival in Maseru, as there are many more car hire companies operating in Jo'burg, which means that you're probably able to get a much better car hire deal and a wider choice of vehicles. If you've had a long international flight, then it may be a good idea to break your journey by staying overnight at one of the many hotels at the airport (which cater for most budgets) and then picking up your hire car in the morning when you're renewed and refreshed after a good night's sleep.

The drive from Jo'burg into one of the northern Lesotho border posts is straightforward and takes about 5 hours.

Other South African destinations that you could fly into and then rent a car include Bloemfontein and Durban - but be warned that if you fly into Durban and intend entering Lesotho from the east, then your point of entry will be the formidable Sani Pass, so you'd be well advised to read up on this challenging route before you commit to this point of entry!

South Africa and Lesotho are part of a common customs union, so there is no problem in bringing a car hired in South Africa across the border into Lesotho (and vice versa). Visitors need to have valid passports and visas (where required) but do not have to show vehicle registration papers.

A country completely surrounded by another country

Favorite thing: (work in progress)
Off the top of my head, I struggle to think of any country other than Lesotho which is completely surrounded by one other single country - in this case, South Africa. Well, I suppose that places such as the Vatican City and San Marino are in similar positions, but to be realistic, these are only a few square kilometres real estate, whereas by comparison, Lesotho is quite a sizeable country.

Obviously being completely encircled by another country poses unique political and logistical challenges, and make it inadvisable for you to fall out with your bigger and much more powerful neighbour. This was a particular dilemma for Lesotho during the isolation years of apartheid.