Elevated Opinion

Overhauled Maseru hotel a fine base from which to explore the city and surrounds

- Bruce Dennill

Landing at Moshoeshoe I Airport in the hills above Maseru immediately underlines the scenic beauty of Lesotho, with the late afternoon sun painting the surrounding mountainsides a potent gold.

From the air, it’s clear that every inch of arable land has been ploughed and planted, but on the ground, those fields and terraces meld into a picturesque landscape that, outside of the city, stretches to the horizon or the closest massif – whichever comes first.

The drive into town takes about 25 minutes outside of rush hour (and anything up to an hour when everyone’s on the road). In the early morning or late afternoon, streams of schoolchildren from outlying districts will be seen making their way to or from school, their heavy black trench-coats a mark of Western trendiness that is a necessity in the cold Lesotho temperatures.

Our driver gestures to a few blocks’ worth of huge warehouses, saying that they are Chinese-owned textile factories.

“The clothes they make here then go to Mexico for branding before coming back for the next stage. It’s very strange,” he observes, before pointing out that the thick Lesotho blankets – a tourist favourite when souvenir shopping – are actually manufactured in South Africa and trucked over the border.