Lesotho Guide
Semonkong
You'll pass through the Thaba Putsoa mountain range to descend gently to the curiously straggly town of SEMONKONG, which began life in the 1880s following the Gun War as a refuge for displaced Basotho from the lowlands. The town offers a few basic stores, plenty of bars, and even a post office and bank, though you can't rely on either. If you're here in winter, try to catch the local horse races on the last Saturday of every month.
The 
Semonkong Lodge is an excellent place to stay ( 
2700 6037, 
www.placeofsmoke.co.ls ; dorms Under R100, rooms R201-300), 1km south of town beside the Maletsunyane River. This laid-back and well-run place offers en-suite doubles and a dormitory in cosy thatch-and-stone buildings, complete with electricity and hot showers, and with fireplaces in some rooms. There's also a campsite, a kitchen for self-caterers, a great bar with pool table, balcony and a decent selection of music, and delicious meals (including vegetarian); best of all are the outdoor activities on offer.
From the lodge it's a day's walk or pony trek west into the pretty Thaba Putsoa mountains to the pristine 120-metre Ketane Falls. The falls are inaccessible by any other means of transport.
Easier to reach are the Maletsunyane Falls (or Le Bihan Falls, after a French missionary), a pretty five-kilometre walk downriver. The dramatic falls, the highest single drop in southern Africa, plunge nearly 200m down a sheer and scary cliff into a swimmable pool, whose mist gives the falls their name: "Smoking Water".
The 120-kilometre drive from Maseru to Semonkong takes about three hours by private car. A couple of Lesotho Freight and Bus Services buses leave Maseru daily at 10am and 2pm, taking around six hours, and there are also at least a couple of minibuses.