Lesotho Backpacking

Lesotho is perfect for backpacking. I’d been travelling along the South African coast from Cape Town and decided to head inland to Lesotho for some mountain time.

The stunning mountain kingdom of Lesotho is one of the most memorable experiences of the trip. I hitched a ride up the Sani Pass then walked off into the mountains alone, wild camping each night in tiny villages and overlooking huge waterfalls.

In many of the villages I was required to seek permission to camp from a village elder. More often than not they’d invite me to join them for dinner and we’d sit for hours having conversations without speaking. Their unique domed huts would often house three generations of one family, living a subsistence-base life that was in tune with their wild environment, cooking on open fires and trading locally.

As I stood on the summit of Thabana Ntlenyana (3482m), the highest point of Lesotho, I was approached by three young men on horseback. They were each wearing wellington boots, a shawl and woolly hat, an outfit that was common all over the country. We exchanged a few words, laughed, smiled and mimed. They asked for a photo so I busily set up my camera before we said goodbye and galloped off onto the plateau. I would love to know where they are today.