Maluti: The Kingdom in the Sky

I love Lesotho. The country is unique to say the least. They have a love of mountains; which makes sense because they are the country in the world with the highest low point. The Sesotho word for mountains Maluti. It is also the name of the currency, the national symbol, and the beer. The Mountains themselves have a myth, the Basotho people claim it is the mountains that saved them from the ravishing hordes of the armies of the great Zulu king Shaka. They were able to defend themselves on the cliffs that separate modern day Lesotho and South Africa. The hero of the Basotho is their first king Moshoeshoe: his mythology claims that he defended the Basotho people against the expansion of the Zulu Kingdom, established the first Kingdom of Lesotho, and most importantly established a peace treaty with the British that established the Protectorate/Nation of Lesotho.

Both times I went to Lesotho I entered the country through the Sani Pass. It is the only road that connects the country with KwaZulu-Natal. The travel up the Sani Pass itself is an adventure. South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho, but at the entrance to the country at the Sani Pass, there is a section of 7km in between the two where one finds them self in neither country. The Sani Pass is about a 2000 meter climb from the South African border to the Lesotho one. The second time I went I reached the top and entered the country only to find myself in a blizzard.

As You can see from the Picture about, the snow settles on the plateau, and the drifts down the side. The difference between Lesotho and South Africa is easy to see in the picture. If one imagines the countries meeting at a 90 degree angle, the cliff face is South Africa and the plateau top is Lesotho. This picture taken from the patio of the Sani Top Pub (the self proclaimed highest pub in Africa) shows exactly where the two countries touch.