Lesotho Guide
Getting Around
Lesotho has a good tarred road network, though you can't avoid dirt (and often boulder-strewn) roads when heading to more out-of-the-way places. Wherever you travel, and especially when you make for the highlands, twisting roads, fast minibus taxis and frequent encounters with roadside pedestrians and livestock make driving tiring work. The main route through the northern part of the country is the continuous tarred road leading northeast from Maseru to Butha-Buthe and then southeast to Mokhotlong. While the onward section to Sani and into South Africa can be negotiated by an experienced driver in a saloon car in good weather, you should really only consider doing it in 4WD. Striking off the northern route, the Katse dam road from Leribe is tarred and of very high quality, though it involves some punishing gradients. On the central route, the tar extends for a way beyond Mohale Dam around Likalaneng but work is under way to continue it most of the way to Thaba-Tseka. The high-altitude route from here to Katse is 4WD only (although there are plans for tar by 2009). The southern route from Maseru is tarred as far as Mphaki, but is passable in an ordinary saloon up to Qacha's Nek. The road beyond Qacha's Nek to Sehlabathebe National Park is impassable without 4WD, though again minibus taxis and buses somehow manage it.
Hiking
Always prepare adequately before setting out, and bring supplies for at least a day more than you think the hike will take. Be warned that in the highest reaches of the highlands there are very few villages; lovely as this is, it's also risky, so make sure someone knows where you've gone, and don't hike in remote areas on your own. Lesotho's weather is notoriously fickle – be prepared for all eventualities.
Bring enough cash (you can't count on rural banks changing money), a torch, plenty of food (there aren't many stores in remote rural areas), a water container, water-purifying tablets, an all-weather cooker with fuel (don't count on finding firewood), a genuinely waterproof tent, a sleeping mat and a very warm sleeping bag. A compass and map are also invaluable.