Lesotho

An unsuspected Africa is contained in this little alpine jewel, entirely incorporated into South Africa, yet so different in morphology and traditions. The kingdom of Lesotho enchants with its valleys and steep canyons, the friendliness of the Basotho people and the intoxicating horseback rides, in contact with a land that belonged to the dinosaurs.

A people of farmers and cattle breeders who inhabit the pasture-rich highlands, the Basotho were able to resist the Boer invasions and the control of the English settlers, entrenching themselves in fortified settlements in the mountains and maintaining their identity and ancestral traditions, centred on the cult of the Balimo ancestors and the initiations officiated by the Ngaka witch doctors. A fascinating culture that will accompany you with great respect and discretion as you discover this small mountain oasis with a temperate climate.

The capital Maseru, more like a provincial town, and the beautiful local handicrafts, including the tapestries of Teyateyaneng; the excursion to the incredible mud dwellings hidden in the rocks of Ha Kome, a sort of Lesotho Pays Dogon, or the rock paintings of Ha Baroana and Liphofung, a very ancient expression of the San Bushman culture; hunting for dinosaur footprints in Leribe, Morija and Quthing, and the snowy peaks of the 3. 500 metres of Mount Thabana Ntlenyana, even boasting ski facilities; hiking in Ts’ehlanyane National Park and impressive canyons in the green grasslands of Semonkong; embedded rivers and the spectacular waterfall of Maletsunyane, to be discovered on characteristic local ponies, through vertiginous paths, wrapped in warm blankets and characteristic hats, according to the Basotho identity fashion, full of symbolism.

A miniature Peru or a Switzerland in the heart of southern Africa? No, simply Lesotho, “the Kingdom of Heaven”, unique in the world!