We drove our truck from Maliba Lodge with a local guide to visit Basotho villagers living in the surrounding mountains. The community is connected with the Maliba Community Trust, which supports local development through tourism, including regional health services, education programmes and agricultural projects.
We visited traditional Mokhoro huts, round houses built using locally available stone, soil and thatch. Their simple construction is well adapted to the harsh mountain climate, with thick walls and thatched roofs that help keep interiors warmer in winter and cooler in summer.
After that, we met a local traditional healer, known as a sangoma, and learned about traditional medicine and spiritual practices that remain an important part of life in many Basotho communities. Traditional healers may use locally collected plants, roots and other natural materials in their remedies, with knowledge passed down through generations.
We also came across sheep shearing, an important part of rural life in Lesotho’s mountains. Shearing is typically done in spring and early summer as temperatures rise, with local herders bringing their flocks down from the surrounding mountain valleys. Wool and mohair are among Lesotho’s key exports, making sheep and goat farming an important source of income for many rural communities.
Our visit also included a stop at a local shebeen, a small informal pub that serves as an important social meeting place. There, we saw the traditional preparation of sorghum beer, a locally made fermented drink made from sorghum and water. The brewing process generally involves preparing and fermenting the grain for 4 days, resulting in a cloudy, mildly alcoholic drink with a distinctive sour taste. Sorghum beer is traditionally shared during social gatherings and community occasions and is an important part of local Basotho culture.
It was interesting to see everyday life around Ts’ehlanyane. The quality of the sorghum beer can vary considerably, but we found one particularly good batch. We could almost imagine believing every story the sangoma told us if we had managed to drink the 10 litres the local guys said they can easily consume in a day! 😄
Parking location – Ts’ehlanyane NP: 28.9184933S 28.4354194E (🚻,🚿,💦,🔌,🍽️,🅿️203 LSL/pax)