---
title: "Lesotho – journey to the Kingdom in the Sky"
description: "Whether by felling trees or herding sheep, the Basotho have shaped the landscape, with some of the transport blanks filled in by Chinese highways that, regardless of the trade-off involved, make the traveller’s journey."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "VISUAL ESSAY"
author: "Angus Begg"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/angus-begg/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-10-26-lesotho-journey-to-the-kingdom-in-the-sky/"
published: "2022-10-26T21:47:58"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 208
---

# Lesotho – journey to the Kingdom in the Sky

> Whether by felling trees or herding sheep, the Basotho have shaped the landscape, with some of the transport blanks filled in by Chinese highways that, regardless of the trade-off involved, make the traveller’s journey.

By Angus Begg · Published 26 October 2022, 23:47 SAST

## Content

A series of sandy twists and turns, switchbacks and birds for the twitcher’s checklist – that’s Lesotho’s Sani Pass in a nutshell. Bearded vultures with wedge-shaped tails, which the Germans delightfully named lammergeiers, pierce the space between peaks that stand as though they are on guard. The other side of a border post – to which raiding Basotho horse thieves pay little attention – reveals village life on the tundra, surrounded by stone kraals and wrapped in the country’s iconic blankets.

![The Basotho cannot be seperated from their ponies. They're in their DNA. Photo: Angus Begg](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/2GXN0gcG7tHOukV1EXFFD83I1Zw=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Lesotho-Photo-Essay-Angus-07-1.jpg)

*The Basotho cannot be separated from their ponies. They're in their DNA. (Photo: Angus Begg)*

![Basotho blankets are an everyday part of winter or summer in the Lesotho highlands. There is a different colour blamket for each region of the country.  Photo: Angus Begg](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/ZczmQWQAP86dpMxEGMOBiU5WC-g=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Lesotho-Photo-Essay-Angus-01.jpg)

*Basotho blankets are an everyday part of winter or summer in the Lesotho highlands. There is a different colour for each region of the country. (Photo: Angus Begg)*

![Angora goats provide the wool so important to Lesotho's exports. Photo: Angus Begg](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/RLTBLGAVV6iufJfBbSGbhNbnLP8=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Lesotho-Photo-Essay-Angus-03-1.jpg)

*Angora goats provide the wool so important to Lesotho's exports. (Photo: Angus Begg)*

![A sunset with a view towards Hlotsi village. Photo: Angus Begg](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/n4caAAOm-SrSYelQE8HXqMpUgnk=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Lesotho-Photo-Essay-Angus-02-1.jpg)

*A sunset with a view towards Hlotsi village. (Photo: Angus Begg)*

![Image](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Lesotho-Photo-Essay-Angus-06.jpg) Aloe polyphylla, valued for its perfect spiral, grows in the Drakensberg and Maluti mountains. (Photo: Angus Begg)

![The Roof of Africa. Photo: Angus Begg](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/g0d4zfBjfunI_aYchYW8SFRGzwM=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Lesotho-Photo-Essay-Angus-08-1.jpg)

*The Roof of Africa. (Photo: Angus Begg)*

![The story of the Sani Pass being tarred hovers between legend and myth. Maybe it's in the offing, but if so, it's a long way off. Torque is king, and sedans suffer here. Photo: Angus Begg](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/bN9jIf2b6kOJZ7p0gEN3d8ge-2o=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Lesotho-Photo-Essay-Angus-04.jpg)

*The story of the Sani Pass being tarred hovers between legend and myth. Maybe it's in the offing, but if so, it's a long way off. Torque is king, and sedans suffer here. (Photo: Angus Begg)*