Lesotho Road Trip: An Epic 8-Day Itinerary

Heading to the Kingdom in the Sky and want to embark on an epic Lesotho road trip? Well, you’ve come to the right place. 

We love little Lesotho and have spent lots of time exploring this tiny mountain kingdom. From mighty Sani Pass to epic Maletsunyane Falls, we’ve seen a lot of Lesotho and have put together an epic Lesotho road trip itinerary for all you independent travellers out there. 

Ready to get off the beaten track and have an awesome adventure? Well then, read on for our ultimate Lesotho road trip itinerary. 

Lesotho Road Trip Overview

Lesotho was made for road trips. Relatively compact and with no shortage of epic scenery, one of the greatest parts about travelling in Lesotho is simply watching the scenery and the unique Basotho culture pass by your window. (Not to mention the awesome fashion!).

That’s not to say there aren’t some epic places to visit in Lesotho, and don’t worry, we’ve included these too in this Lesotho road trip itinerary. 

Read next: 15 Awesome Things to Do in Lesotho + Essential Guide

This Lesotho road trip itinerary crosses a large chunk of Lesotho, starting from Sani Pass in the east, heading to the far north and then crossing the northwestern flank to enter the interior. 

On this Lesotho road trip itinerary, you can expect to see epic Lesotho mountain scenery and hit the major Lesotho highlights, like Sani Pass and Maletsunyane Falls. We’ve also included a few of our lesser-known favourites, like Ts’ehlanyane National Park and the gem of Malealea Lodge. 

Lesotho Road Trip Itinerary Breakdown

Sani Pass → Ts’ehlanyane National Park → Semonkong → Malealea → Maseru Bridge or Van Rooyen’s Gate (goodbye Lesotho!)

Days

8 days / 7 nights

Note: this Lesotho road trip itinerary is for 8 days and 7 nights, but you can always extend or shorten it, depending on your preference. If you want to do more activities at any of the destinations (for example, more activities at Malealea) then you can easily just stay a bit longer. 

Lesotho Itinerary Day-by-Day Breakdown

Accommodation

Camping and / or Lodge rooms

When To Do This Lesotho Road Trip

The best time to do this Lesotho road trip is from March to April and September. This is during the southern hemisphere autumn and spring. During this time, the weather is pleasant, and the skies are clear, making it perfect for outdoor activities and road-tripping!  

Since Lesotho is at high altitude, from April to August, Lesotho is very cold. Need convincing? When we camped at Ts’ehlanyane National Park in April, we woke up to frost every morning. Make sure you have a warm jacket and layers. If you’re camping, you’ll want a sleeping bag rated to at least -5C. 

The wet season, from November to March, can bring heavy rains and make some roads impassable, so it is not an ideal time for a Lesotho road trip. 

The Car For Your Lesotho Road Trip

First let’s state the obvious: you need your own car for this Lesotho road trip itinerary (it is a road trip after all). If you don’t have one, your best option is to rent one in South Africa and drive it across.  

Pro tip: use Discover Cars to find the best deals on rentals for your Lesotho adventure. It’s what we personally use and recommend.

Since this Lesotho road trip itinerary includes Sani Pass, a 4×4 is necessary. If you don’t have one, then you can simply exclude Sani Pass and head straight to Ts’ehlanyane National Park from Maseru Bridge.

Our advice? Get the 4×4 – you’ll have a lot of fun. Trust us! 

Lesotho Roadtrip Itinerary: The Route

Lesotho Road Trip Itinerary Day 1: Sani Pass

Start your Lesotho road trip from the bottom of Sani Pass, one of southern Africa’s greatest drives. 

How difficult is Sani Pass? Well, if you’re experienced with 4×4 driving, then you’ll find Sani Pass a lot of fun. If it’s your first time conquering a 4×4 route, well then, you’re in for a challenge. 

Take your time on Sani Pass’ many hairpin bends and be sure to enjoy the fantastic views. 

Read our full guide on How to Conquer Sani Pass

When you get to the top, be sure to stop in at Sani Mountain Lodge for a drink at the cozy pub. 

After you’ve refreshed yourself, continue driving a few extra kilometres to the very cute Masoba Soba Lodge. You can either camp on the grounds or get a cute rondavel for the night. Masoba Soba also does simple meals. 

Lesotho Road Trip Itinerary Day 2 & 3: Ts’ehlanyane National Park 

From Sani Top, take the scenic drive to the next stop on this Lesotho itinerary, Ts’ehlanyane National Park. The highway is very curvy, with a lot of climbing and descending. 

As you leave the high-altitude plains of Sani Top, watch the landscape change to alpine forest. You’ll also see heaps of rondavels and cute mountain communities along the way.

From Sani Top, you’ll take the main Lesotho highway, the A1, until you reach the access road to Ts’ehlanyane National Park, 5 km southwest of Butha Buthe. The access road is tarred and in good shape. 

With stops (including lunch), the drive from Sani Top to Ts’ehlanyane National Park should take around 5 hours. The entrance fees for Ts’ehlanyane National Park are 50 LTL pp and 30 LTL per car.

Read our full guide on Ts’ehlanyane National Park

In the park, you can either camp or get a room at Maliba Lodge. If you don’t want to self-cater, then Maliba Lodge is also your only option for food. 

There’s plenty to do in the park. Hiking and pony trekking are the star attractions here, but Maliba Lodge also puts on good community tours. If you can brave the cold, the swimming holes are excellent. 

On this Lesotho road trip itinerary, we recommend spending 2 nights at Ts’ehlanyane National Park. This will allow one full day to explore the park, whether by foot or horse. 

Lesotho Road Trip Itinerary Day 4 & 5: Semonkong and Maletsunyane Falls

When you’re done playing around at Ts’ehlanyane National Park, drive all through the north, then west, then turn inland to Semonkong, home to Lesotho’s biggest waterfall and most famous attraction, Maletsunyane Falls. 

On the way during this part of your Lesotho road trip, you can stop at the dinosaur footprints in Leribe. They cost 50 LTL pp for a guide to show you (you’ll need the guide). 

The drive from Ts’ehlanyane National Park to Semonkong should take around 5 – 6 hours, so if you want to make a couple of stops, then budget a whole day. You’ll follow the A1 towards Roma, at which point you turn onto the A5. 

Read: How to Visit Maletsunyane Falls and Semonkong

At Semonkong, you can either camp or get a room at Semonkong Lodge. For the truly intrepid, however, you can score one of Africa’s greatest campsites directly at Maletsunyane Falls. (Note that you absolutely need a 4×4 to drive to Maletsunyane Falls). 

At Semonkong, the main tourist attraction is Maletsunyane Falls, but Semonkong Lodge offers plenty of other activities as well. 

Our suggestion is to spend 2 nights in Semonkong. Adding 2 nights to your Lesotho itinerary will give you time to explore Semonkong town, visit Maletsunyane Falls and do another activity of your choice (like a donkey pub crawl!). 

Lesotho Road Trip Itinerary Day 6 & 7: Malelea

When you’re done chasing waterfalls and going on donkey pub crawls, head to one of our favourite spots in Lesotho: Malealea Lodge. 

The drive from Semonkong to Malealea Lodge is approximately 4 hours. The road to Malelea is absolutely fine until the last 7 km. Then it’s really bad. Like, really bad. Budget around 30 minutes for that last 7 km stretch (seriously). 

While it’s absolutely recommended to have a 4×4 to reach Malealea Lodge, we did meet a couple who did it in a sedan. All I can say is, hot damn! I’m not sure their rental company would approve. 

Malealea Lodge is an awesome little place with a great vibe. It’s a big space, made with love. There’s lots to do, but it’s also a great space to hang out and enjoy the view.

There are lots of different accommodation options, from camping to big rondavels. There’s also a bar and restaurant on site. 

You can spend a number of nights at Malealea, taking part in all of the fun activities, but we recommend a minimum of 2 nights. 

Malealea Lodge is central to the village and most of the activities on offer directly benefit the community (yay!). As for the activities, expect the usual Lesotho suspects: hiking, mountain biking and pony trekking are the main players. We can personally recommend the village cultural tour. It’s short, sweet and very insightful. We loved it!

By far one of the biggest highlights of a stay at Malealea Lodge is the nightly choir and band. These guys are awesome – don’t miss it!

Lesotho Road Trip Itinerary Day 8: Goodbye Lesotho!

From Malealea Lodge, retrace your steps to rejoin the A2. From there, you can finish your Lesotho road trip by continuing north to the Maseru Bridge border (if heading to Joburg) or west to the Van Rooyens Gate border (if heading to Bloemfontein). 

Goodbye Lesotho!

Heading to Joburg? Check out 15 Awesome Things to Do in Johannesburg

Lesotho Travel Tips

• If you’re coming from South Africa (which, you probably are), you can use South African rand if you don’t want to use an ATM in Lesotho or change money. The South African rand is par with the Lesotho loti (LTL) and is accepted everywhere. 
• If you’re self-catering, stock up on supplies in South Africa before entering Lesotho. Roma and Maseru have okay supermarkets, but that’s about it. 
• Learn a couple of words in Sesotho. Well, try. It’s freakin hard to pronounce. “Dumela” is hello. 
• Sim cards are easy to obtain in Lesotho, but if you’re only going for a short bit and don’t want the hassle, remember to download some offline maps for navigation. 
• Petrol is marginally cheaper in Lesotho than in South Africa. 
• Travel insurance, as always, is essential. If something goes wrong, you want to be covered. We use and recommend SafetyWing. Trust us, we’ve used a lot of travel insurance and they really are the best.

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