Eastern Lesotho Village Experience Tour

Traditional cooking and a range of activities gives you a window into the lives of a proud and unique people.

Basotho Culture Village Life Meals Included Passports Essential

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

Community tourism at its best! We take you by 4x4 Land Rover up Sani Pass, over the second highest road pass in Lesotho, then down into remote eastern Lesotho valleys. Lunch along the way, then on to typical highlands villages. Our hosts will help you to appreciate and understand their lifestyle and culture. Enjoy 24 hours as a Basotho villager. Overnight accommodation at a remote mountain village and delicious traditional cooking. A range of activities gives you a window into the lives of a proud and unique people. If you do the 3-day tour, you stay an extra day and can get totally immersed!! Feel the stresses of daily life fall away as you slot into the pace of life in the mountains. These trips are designed to benefit as wider segment of the local community as we can by allowing as many services as possible to be rendered to the tour by community members.

Three day options

WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT

Experience Fair Trade in Tourism in action. Your tour price includes a contribution to the Sani Top Basotho community. Our ground-breaking approach to grass-roots tourism means that your tour price directly benefits a wide segment of the local community, preserving cultural dignity and ensuring fair remuneration for services rendered. “Sani Lodge is the Silver Award Winner of African Responsible Tourism Award for Poverty Reduction 2018. Sani Lodge and Drakensberg Adventures in the Drakensberg Mountains of South Africa has made a major contribution to local livelihoods and poverty reduction over many years. By involving Basotho stakeholders, they have created opportunities for communities to proudly showcase their unique cultural practices, engaging with guests in an authentic manner, thereby earning their respect. They are the future of tourism in Africa". ~ Judges The Landrover is the vehicle which pioneered the Sani Pass back in the 1950's and 60's. We believe that for an authentic Sani Pass experience, it must be in one of our Landrovers!!

Departure from Sani Lodge (9.00 am)

We meet in near reception ten minutes prior to departure for a quick briefing and introduction to your guide.

Travel up Sani Pass and into Lesotho

Travel up the only road through the Drakensberg cliffs in a 4×4 whilst hearing tales of the pioneering of the route. You will also learn about the natural history of the Drakensberg and see the beautiful wildflowers, wildlife and birds which inhabit the slopes.

Traditional Lunch

Enjoy a traditional (vegetarian) Basotho lunch in Skiring village

Drive over Black Mountain Pass at 3240m

Ascend Black Mountain (3240m), second highest road pass in Lesotho with stunning views. We will meet the shepherds who spend the summer months in the highlands tending flocks of sheep and goats and get a sense of the life they lead. Follow the Sehonghong river valley before turning off on to the road to the remote Menoaneg Pass area.

Arrive at the village, have a cup of tea and be shown around.

Once you are settled in there are a variety of activities, which may happen in a different order on trips, but include:

* Go for a walk through the village. See how people live. * Visit the traditional healer (have a personal consultation if you like – small extra cost). * Evening dancing and singing. * If schools are open, we visit the local school. * An optional extra activity is horse-riding which is not included in the tour price. * A walk into the beautiful mountains and valleys is an option if you don’t go riding. * Enjoy discussions with your host on the way of life in his village. * Meet Granny who is over 100 years old. Hear her stories of the changes during her long life.

Return Journey

After lunch on the last day, we take our leave and start the journey back to Sani Lodge. Return to Sani Lodge by 5pm.

BOOK TOUR Three day options

Accommodation

We sleep the night in a homestay. Accommodation is in a thatch roofed, stone walled rondavel. There is no electricity or running water. A basin of water will be provided for bathing. Please bear in mind that given the remote location the toilet is a “long drop” (pit latrine). Warm blankets are provided as bedding.

3 Day Eastern Lesotho Village Experience Tour

Spend an extra day in the village to get a feel for the rhythm of life in the Highlands. Climb a nearby peak, spend longer on horseback, help with the agricultural or cooking chores and become part of the community.

BOOK TOUR

3 Day Combination Tour

Combine the 2 day Village Experience with the 2 day Pony Trek (or even the 2 day Village Hike). A popular choice giving you the best of various tours!

BOOK TOUR

TOUR MAP

Take a look at the routes our tours take.

Kit List

Lesotho Visa Requirements

HISTORY OF THE SANI PASS

Before the 1950's, it was a trail for pack animals to carry goods through to the isolated town of Mokhotlong in Eastern Lesotho. Now, the road carries 4x4 vehicles, though the odd donkey and horse can still be seen plodding slowly up the steep route. Crossing the border at the top of the pass, one enters not only another country (passports required), but another world. The Basotho have a unique African mountain culture, reminiscent of Tibet! People live in traditional rondavels (huts), herd goats and sheep in the high mountains and grow crops by ox-ploughing and hand-hoeing in a lifestyle fascinating for the visitor. Come and experience the wonders of the mountains. Visit Lesotho under your own steam, or on one of our tours. The South African border post opens at 6 am and closes at 6 pm.

Useful Documents Below

MOUNTAIN KINGDOM OF LESOTHO

Lesotho is a little-known country. It is unique in several respects. It is the only “real” country completely surrounded by another country (South Africa). it is also the country with the highest lowest point in the world – the lowest point in Lesotho is 1433m which is higher than in any other country. The highest point in Southern Africa, Thabana Ntlenyana, 3482m, is situated in the east of the country. Lesotho owes its existence to their great and revered first king, Moshoeshoe the Great. He welded a group of disparate Sesotho speaking clans into a single nation through wise statesmanship and his mountain fortress of Thaba Bosiu. Southern Africa in the first part of the 19th century was in some chaos, with warfare and population displacement rife. Moshoeshoe offered sanctuary at his mountain fortress in these troubled times, effectively forging the Basotho nation through the offering of peace. This ethos can be felt in the current motto of Lesotho which is “Khotso, Pula, Nala meaning Peace, Rain and Prosperity” Lesotho has managed to retain its own separate identity ever since. One of Moshoeshoe’s last acts as an old man was to ask for “protection” and the country thus became the British Protectorate of Basutoland from 1868 until its independence in 1965. An attempt to include the country in the Cape Colony led to the Gun war of the 1880’s and from then on, the country was governed directly from London. Basutoland was offered the opportunity to join the Union of South Africa when it was formed in 1910, but the council of chiefs declined. The country has its own currency, government system and schooling system and its people are fiercely independent. As one of the few mountain peoples in Africa, the Basotho people have a unique lifestyle and culture. Soaring mountain peaks and deep incised river valleys have led to many adaptations to the environment. This is exemplified by the sight of a horseman mounted on the sturdy Basotho pony, wearing a traditional Basotho blanket! Visit under your own steam or go on one of our tours which visit remote, seldom visited areas and give you an authentic window into the lifestyle of these proud and friendly people.

TERMS & CONDITIONS

Please note that the price quoted above is for tours running with a minimum of four guests. If you wish to do this tour with a group of less than four, there will be additional charges due to the fixed nature of certain costs. Owing to the current fuel cost increase, there may be an additional fuel levy. Lesotho has a Tourist Levy of R100 per person entering the country.

Booking terms