Lesotho, a mountainous kingdom entirely surrounded by South Africa, has no UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The entire country lies above 1,000 metres altitude, and the main Maloti Mountains of Lesotho form the source of the Tugela and Orange rivers. The Maloti-Drakensberg Transfrontier Park — jointly managed by Lesotho and South Africa — is an extension of the uKhahlamba/Drakensberg Park UNESCO site that includes the Lesotho highland plateau. From Cultural Heritage Online.
uKhahlamba/Drakensberg Park (including Maloti-Drakensberg extension) 150 km northeast — 2 hr by road via Butha-Buthe
The uKhahlamba/Drakensberg Park was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000 for the combined natural and cultural heritage of the Drakensberg escarpment and its foothills in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. In 2013, the inscription was extended to include the Maloti-Drakensberg Transfrontier Conservation Area, which encompasses portions of the Maloti Mountains in Lesotho — so the UNESCO site now explicitly includes land in Lesotho, making Lesotho technically a country with a portion of a transboundary UNESCO inscription on its territory.
The Maloti-Drakensberg extension covers the highland Lesotho plateau above the main escarpment. This is one of the most important water catchment areas in southern Africa: the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), which transfers water from the Orange River headwaters in Lesotho to the Vaal River system in Gauteng, South Africa, has built a series of large dams in the Maloti highlands. The project provides Lesotho with significant royalty payments from South Africa while flooding traditional highland valleys. The main Drakensberg escarpment, including the Amphitheatre (a 5 km arc of basaltic cliff approximately 1,000 m high) and the Tugela Falls (948 m, often cited as the second highest waterfall in the world), is on the South African side of the border.
The San rock art found throughout the park — approximately 35,000 individual paintings in nearly 600 sites — extends into Lesotho: some of the most remote and least-visited rock art sites in southern Africa are in the Maloti highlands, accessible only on multi-day horse treks or hiking routes. Lesotho has a strong pony-trekking tradition — horses were introduced by Basotho traders in the nineteenth century — and mountain pony treks from villages in the highlands provide access to rock art sites in areas no road reaches.
Getting there from Maseru: The main Drakensberg/Maloti area is accessible via road northeast from Maseru through Butha-Buthe (approximately 150 km, 2 hours). Entry into the Maloti-Drakensberg Transfrontier area is via multiple points; the Sani Pass (4WD required) gives access to the top of the escarpment and the highest pub in Africa (the Sani Mountain Lodge). Allow: 2+ days minimum; 5+ days for pony trekking itinerary. Best for: Hiking; San rock art; dramatic mountain landscapes; pony trekking.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Lesotho have any UNESCO World Heritage Sites?
Not independently, but Lesotho is part of a transboundary UNESCO inscription. The uKhahlamba/Drakensberg Park was extended in 2013 to include the Maloti-Drakensberg Transfrontier Conservation Area, which encompasses portions of Lesotho’s Maloti highland plateau. The Lesotho portion of the inscription covers highland catchment areas and San rock art sites. The core of the inscribed area — the Drakensberg escarpment and its most celebrated landscapes — remains on the South African side of the border.
Why is the Sani Pass significant?
The Sani Pass is a mountain pass on the border between KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) and Lesotho, ascending the Drakensberg escarpment from approximately 1,544 metres at the South African border post to 2,874 metres at the Lesotho border post — a gain of 1,330 metres in approximately 8 km of road. A four-wheel-drive vehicle is required. The summit gives access to the Lesotho highland plateau and the Sani Mountain Lodge, which markets itself as the “highest pub in Africa.” The pass is one of the most dramatic driveable mountain passes in southern Africa and is a popular day trip or overnight excursion from Underberg (South Africa).
What is the Lesotho Highlands Water Project?
The Lesotho Highlands Water Project is a large-scale trans-boundary water infrastructure programme — the largest such programme in Africa — that transfers water from the Orange River headwaters in the Maloti highlands of Lesotho to the Vaal River system serving Gauteng, South Africa’s most populous and economically productive province. Phase 1 (completed 2003) involved three dams (Katse, Mohale, and Matsoku) and 200 km of tunnels. Lesotho receives annual royalty payments from South Africa (approximately ZAR 1 billion per year) in exchange for the water transfer. The project has also been used to generate hydroelectric power for Lesotho’s domestic grid.
What rock art can be seen in the Maloti highlands of Lesotho?
The Maloti highlands contain numerous San rock art sites in rock shelters along the escarpment and in river gorges. Many are in remote locations accessible only on multi-day pony treks or hiking routes; some of the most intact and least-visited sites are in the Lesotho highlands rather than in the more heavily touristed South African side of the park. The paintings depict eland (the most sacred animal in San cosmology), other antelope, hunting scenes, therianthropic (half-human, half-animal) figures associated with shamanic trance, and geometric patterns. The images were made over approximately 2,400 years by San communities who inhabited the Drakensberg foothills seasonally before being largely displaced in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
