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South Africa and Lesotho Day 6: Lesotho’s Mountains

28 February 2026 • 70 km / 43 mi (map)

  • Added to Eric Scouten :: Travel on 28 March 2026
  • Lesotho 4

We arrived at our AirBNB after dark last night, so we didn’t really get to appreciate our surroundings. When we awoke, we found ourselves in a stunning mountain retreat:

A wide green valley near Makhalaneng, Lesotho, with a winding river cutting through grassy fields and shrubs in the foreground, leading toward rolling green mountains under a deep blue, nearly cloudless sky.
Casa Tumi, north of Makhalaneng, Lesotho
A round stone cottage with a conical thatched roof and a metal chimney pipe, set against a grassy hillside under a bright blue sky in Lesotho. The dwelling has a wooden door behind a metal security gate, curtained windows, and a small garden with herbs; two grey plastic chairs and a small table sit on a paved patio to the right.
Casa Tumi, north of Makhalaneng, Lesotho

Today’s agenda was a horseback tour of the nearby mountains. We started on a trail through a nearby village:

A view from horseback looking along a narrow red dirt trail winding through green bushes toward a small rural village set against grassy hills and mountains under a bright blue sky. The pale ears and mane of the horse are visible in the foreground.
near Makhalaneng, Lesotho
A small stone house with a rusted corrugated metal roof weighted down by rocks sits in a rural mountain valley, with a tall pole bearing a yellow flag rising beside it. In the dirt yard a wheelbarrow, buckets and a tarp with food drying on it are visible, surrounded by green vegetation, pumpkins and flowering shrubs under a bright blue sky with grassy hills in the background.
near Makhalaneng, Lesotho
A broad green valley near Makhalaneng, Lesotho, with scattered villages and small fields spread across rolling terrain, framed by low mountain ranges under a bright blue sky dotted with white clouds. Leafy shrubs, maize, and a sunflower fill the foreground.
near Makhalaneng, Lesotho
near Makhalaneng, Lesotho · by Lisa Rozmyn

We’re told that these round houses are used by shepherds as they tend to their livestock in the summer months:

A round stone hut with a thatched conical roof stands amid green grassland scattered with low dry-stone walls and loose boulders, with a brush-covered hillside rising behind it under a bright blue sky with scattered clouds.
near Makhalaneng, Lesotho

Here are the views that we came for …

A wide mountain valley landscape near Makhalaneng, Lesotho, with green cultivated fields, scattered small villages, and reddish patches of bare earth spreading across the lowland. In the foreground a scrubby hilltop with shrubs and a small rock cairn gives way to rugged distant peaks, including two distinctive jagged spires, beneath a bright blue sky scattered with white clouds.
near Makhalaneng, Lesotho
A wide mountain valley near Makhalaneng, Lesotho, with scrubby green hillsides in the foreground sloping down to fertile fields and a small round thatched hut. Rolling green mountains with two distinctive jagged peaks rise in the distance under a bright blue sky filled with billowing white cumulus clouds.
near Makhalaneng, Lesotho

… and the trusty steeds that brought us there.

Two saddled horses, one dark brown and one pale palomino, graze on a shrubby hilltop overlooking a broad green valley dotted with small villages and farmland, with rolling mountains and a bright blue sky full of scattered clouds in the distance.
near Makhalaneng, Lesotho
near Makhalaneng, Lesotho · by Lisa Rozmyn

(We’ll … ummm … not mention my rather clumsy dismount when we arrived at the view point.)

A green rural highland landscape near Makhalaneng, Lesotho, with grassy fields and shrubs in the foreground, a low rocky hill dotted with scattered houses and trees, and rolling mountains in the distance under a bright blue sky filled with large white cumulus clouds.
near Makhalaneng, Lesotho
A two-tiered waterfall cascades over dark rock ledges into a calm pool, with a traditional round thatched-roof rondavel hut perched on the green hilltop above. A distinctive rock pinnacle rises in the distance under a bright blue sky scattered with puffy white clouds, and a leafy tree frames the left side of the scene.
near Makhalaneng, Lesotho
near Makhalaneng, Lesotho · by Lisa Rozmyn

After a brief nap, we took an afternoon drive to explore points south of us. There are few roads in Lesotho, so the choices were basically north (back to Maseru, the capital) or south. Knowing that we would be returning through Maseru in a couple days, we chose south.

A green hilly valley landscape east of Nkesi, Lesotho, with rolling grass-covered slopes, scattered shrubs and trees, and distant mountain ridges under a dramatic sky of large white cumulus clouds and patches of blue.
east of Nkesi, Lesotho
east of Mantsa, Lesotho · by Lisa Rozmyn

As we climbed through the mountains (peak elevation: about 2660 m / 8730 feet), the weather turned brooding and eventually rainy. Very Seattle-like, except for the intense downpour as shown in the last photo.

A curving paved road winding through a green highland valley near Mantsa, Lesotha, with rolling hills and flat-topped mountains in the distance under a dramatic sky of heavy grey clouds with a small patch of blue. A small corrugated metal structure and scattered trees stand alongside grassy slopes.
east of Mantsa, Lesotho
A green hilly landscape east of Mantsa, Lesotho, with rolling cultivated slopes and terraced fields fading into distant mountain ranges under a dramatic, heavily overcast sky. A small structure sits in the lower left corner near a dirt path winding through the grass.
east of Mantsa, Lesotho
A small mountain village of round thatched huts and stone-walled fields nestled on green terraced slopes, with rugged grass-covered mountains rising behind under a cloudy sky.
north of Theetsoa, Lesotho
A green mountain valley in Lesotho under a heavy, overcast sky, with a winding paved road snaking down through the hills and a band of pale yellow light glowing low on the distant horizon between ridge lines.
east of Theetsoa, Lesotho
A broad upland landscape of rolling grassy moorland leading toward a flat-topped, grass-covered hill under a heavy, overcast sky of grey clouds. The foreground is dense tussock grass and low scrub, with distant ridges visible to the right.
east of Theetsoa, Lesotho
east of Theetsoa, Lesotho · by Lisa Rozmyn
A wide green mountain valley under heavy gray storm clouds, with curtains of rain falling over distant peaks. A winding paved road descends through the foreground hills, and scattered small buildings dot the valley floor.
east of Mantsa, Lesotho

All in all, so very happy that we made time for Lesotho. Looking forward to exploring more tomorrow!

around Makhalaneng, Lesotho · 70 km / 43 mi
(Mouse over or tap on the markers to see the photos there. Use the button to adjust the map’s position and zoom.)

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