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Explore Africa<br />
Bhutha-Buthe<br />
Hlotse<br />
Pitseng<br />
Teyateyaneng<br />
Lejone<br />
Maseru<br />
Roma<br />
Ha Kosetabole<br />
Mokhotlong<br />
LESOTHO<br />
Mafetang<br />
Mohales Hoek<br />
Moyeni<br />
LESOTHO<br />
THE FRIENDLY<br />
MOUNTAIN KINGDOM<br />
Astoundingly beautiful natural scenery,<br />
alpine mountains, meandering<br />
streams and rivers, breath-taking<br />
waterfalls, a vast variety of flora and<br />
fauna, snow-covered peaks, rich in<br />
culture and tradition, friendly and<br />
hospitable people, affordable, easily<br />
accessible from anywhere in South<br />
Africa, luxurious mountain lodges,<br />
awesome national parks, ancient<br />
rock art, craft shopping, exhilarating hikes and 4X4 drives, outdoor<br />
adventures, and even a ski resort…these are just a few of the things<br />
that define this magnificent little country.<br />
The country is also widely identified by one of its national symbols,<br />
the very distinctive mokorotlo, or traditional Basotho straw hat. Its<br />
design is said to have been inspired by the conical Mount Qiloane.<br />
Completely landlocked and nestled high up in the Maloti Mountains,<br />
part of the Drakensberg range, it is the only country in the world<br />
that sits in its entirety at more than 1,300 meters above sea level.<br />
Its highest point at 3,482 metres is Thabana Ntlenyana, literally<br />
meaning “beautiful little mountain” in Sesotho.<br />
It shares with South Africa one of the highest, most daunting<br />
mountain passes in Africa, the Sani Pass, while it also boasts one of<br />
the highest nature reserves in Africa, the Bokong Nature Reserve, at<br />
more than 3,000 meters above sea level.<br />
The country’s surface area covers a mere 30,000 square kilometres<br />
and it has a population of just over 2-million people.<br />
For such a small country that must have been quite inaccessible<br />
a century or two ago, Lesotho has a history that suggests it was<br />
much coveted by all who ventured into the kingdom. First it had to<br />
repel the marauding Zulu warriors of King Shaka Zulu and those of<br />
Mzilikazi, king of the Matabele, as well as other bands of attackers,<br />
during the infamous Mfecane, meaning “crushing”, also known<br />
in Sesotho, the language of Lesotho, as the Difaqane, meaning<br />
“scattering” or “forced dispersal”.<br />
This bloody chapter reshaped the tribal landscape of Southern<br />
Africa and gave birth to several new tribes and nations in the<br />
period between 1815 and 1840, including the establishment of<br />
18 |ISSUE 4|www.mzanzitravel.co.za | MZANZI TRAVEL
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