Established in 1970 as lesothos first national park, the fabulously scenic and remote sehlabathebe protects 65 square kilometres of rolling boulderstudded. Lesothos most undervisited national park is remote, rugged and beautiful. It has a template, but there is not enough information present. The resort has a barbecue and spa centre, and guests can enjoy a drink at the bar. The tour company khotso offers riding tours from the south african side. And a perfect break from traveling in south africa, which surrounds lesotho. Select an option below to see stepbystep directions and to compare ticket prices and travel times in rome2rios travel planner. The best hotels near sehlabathebe national park in. Scenery from sehlabathebe national park in lesotho at border to south africa. The park conserves an area of high mountain plateau bordering on south africa. Winters are clear but cold at night, and there is sometimes light snowfall.
Sehlabathebe national park extension of ukhahlamba. May, 2019 download lesotho sehlabathebe national park for firefox. The park has nine entrance gates, the closest of which, numbi gate, is 375km235mi from johannesburgs o. Experience sehlabathebe national park blyzzard adventures. Half the fun of sehlabathebe national park is getting there, since it is rather remote. However, dont let its remoteness deter you, this is. Sehlabathebe is located in the southeastern corner of lesotho and straddles both the drakensberg and maluti mountains. In many developing countries, the protected areas are still difficult to get to. Our last day here changed from full sunshine to thick mist within 20 minutes. Your pictures are caught with sandstone arches, rock pool reflections, views of the three bushman the prominent peaks and the escarpment. Campers also have the possibility of utilizing our dining room at the new lodge for meals etc, if required. Sehlabathebe national park photos sehlabathebe national park travel guide. We had a dicey moment when ben hopped out for a quick pee and the car started sinking.
The lodge is located in lesothos sehlabathebe national park, bordering the far southern natal drakensberg in the underberg district. Lesotho travel guide, destinations, tips, prices, hiking. Explore sehlabathebe national park holidays and discover the best time and places to visit. Oct 14, 2015 our experience with sehlabathebe national park is the epitome of that feeling. There is a safari lodge in the park called jonathans lodge. Title sehlabathebe national park description sehlabathebe national park publication date. Sehlabathebe national park snp has been nominated by the kingdom of lesotho as an extension to the existing ukhahlamba drakensberg park udp world heritage site in south africa. The sehlabathebe national park is located in the maloti mountains in qachas nek district, lesotho, and is part of the larger malotidrakensberg transfrontier conservation area. From the world heritage inscription the malotidrakensberg park is a transboundary site composed of the ukhahlamba drakensberg national park in south africa and the sehlathebe national park in lesotho. Sehlabathebe national park in lesotho is one of the most breathtaking places on earth. Book tsoelikane river at sehlabathebe tour packages online today. The sehlabathebe national park is located in the maloti mountains in qachas nek district, lesotho, and is part of the larger malotidrakensberg world heritage site. It is a good alternative if you cannot get a booking at jonathans lodge in the park. Absolutely everything you need to know about 4x4ing lesotho.
Lesothos first national park proclaimed in 1970, is remote, rugged and beautiful, and getting there is always a worthwhile adventure, especially if youre into wilderness, seclusion and fishing. Sehlabathebe national park is highly recommended and a must visit destination when planning a lesotho trip. Sehlabathebe national park travel lesotho the blanketwrap. The ramatseliso pass road has recently been concreted on the bad bits so. From there, it was mentioned to a few mates and a group was formed o dates 19 to 22 november 2010 day 1 from durban to sehlabathebe national park 380km day 2 driving 0. The park, lesothos first national park, and second largest, is remote, rugged and beautiful, and getting there is always a worthwhile adventure, especially if youre into wilderness, seclusion and fishing. Alternatively, you could hire a car in johannesburg and drive to the park. All the reports about access to the park advocate using 4x4 to get there. The tsoelikanyane waterfall is the biggest waterfall in the park. Lesotho is over 30 000 square kilometres and is covered in gullies, sparkling waterfalls, and rugged mountains making it a tourist destination hotspot. Home to both striking biological diversity as well as important cultural. A trip through the sehlabathebe national park, in the maloti mountains, boasts a wide range and some rare wildlife, flora and fauna. The resort has a barbecue and spa center, and guests can enjoy a drink at the bar.
After breakfast at 08h30, we now depart with 4x4 vehicles another 10 kilometers in the sehlabathebe national park. Together with several national parks in south africa it forms the unesco world heritage site maloti drakensberg tranboundary world heritage site. Due to its isolation the park does not see vast amounts of visitors and you can find solitude quite easily. Sehlabathebe national park sehlabathebe national park. Sehlathebe national park is part of a transboundary site composed of the ukhahlamba drakensberg national park in south africa. Sehlabathebe national park is one of the most remote areas of lesotho. You need a 4x4 vehicle but even then you could be stuck going in or out waiting for a river to go down after heavy rains. There were some reports that the old house is now being occupied by parks staff. With 0 listings in sehlabathebe national park, our handy sehlabathebe national park map search and great low prices, its easy to book the perfect holiday accommodation for your. Durban to sehlabathebe national park 2 ways to travel via. You can choose cozy and comfortable ensuite rondavels each with fireplace including five traditional doubletwins and four modern family doubles with bunk beds. It is located in the maloti mountains in leribe district, and is part of the larger malotidrakensberg transfrontier conservation area. Sehlabathebe national park tourism sehlabathebe national park hotels sehlabathebe national park vacation rentals.
The best places to stay is in the sethlabathebe national park and just outside the park at khotso mountain lodge. Zambezi kanyemba safaris two exclusive outdoor experiences. Sehlabathebe national park lesothos first national park. With 0 listings in sehlabathebe national park, our handy sehlabathebe national park map search and great low prices, its easy to book the perfect holiday accommodation for. Rest your head in sehlabathebe lodge, located in sehlabathebe national park. The rolling grasslands, wildflowers and silence provide complete isolation, with only the prolific bird life including the bearded vulture and the odd rhebok for company. At one point we stood atop the valley after waking up to an incredible sunrise in our cave overhang to turn around to see that we were standing at the edge of a sea of clouds that had formed below us on the endless ravines now hidden underneath the clouds. If youre driving, there are two roads into the park access by 4wd vehicles one from thabatseka in the middle of the country and another from the south africa. We also have availability for camping with seperate ablutions within the new lodge for the camp site. There are 3 ways to get from durban to sehlabathebe national park by bus or car. Sehlabathebe national park lodge lesotho zambezi kanyemba.
Sehlabathebe national park is great with photographic safaris. Plan your private tour of lesotho and receive travel tips from our experts. Explore the mighty zambezi river at kanyemba or get acquainted with the unique opportunity to come and visit the beautiful sehlabathebe national park in lesotho where there is plenty of opportunity to hike or take a number of trails on horseback, or just. The best sehlabathebe national park vacation packages 2020. Sehlabathebe national park is the only official national park in lesotho. Tsehlanyane national park is a national park in lesotho. When he heard i was keen to go, the idea for the trip took hold. Half the fun of sehlabathebe national park is getting there. Situated in lesothos southeastern corner, within qachas nek district, the 6500 ha area of land is. Sehlabathebe national park camping has anybody camped here recently who can advise us on the current situation and whether there are at least toilet facilities available. Bearded vultures and rheboks can be viewed here, along with some of the countrys most. Washington to sehlabathebe national park 5 ways to. This farflung, lesservisited park offers stunning rock formations, rolling grasslands, wildflowers and a feeling of isolation, though there s also a shiny new headquarters and a few rondavels at the entrance.
Enchanting travels private tailormade journeys of a lifetime 1 888 263 2574 contact us. Sehlabathebe national park is one of just three national parks in lesotho. Campers also have the possibility of utilizing our dining room at the new lodge for meals etc, if. Pdf flora of sehlabathebe national park, lesotho researchgate. Experience the magic of camping in caves, wandering through high altitude fields of wildflowers, stunning sunrises under the gaze of the dramatic drakensberg mountain border of lesotho and south africa. Do i actually need to book a campsite next month or do i just show up. What a amazing holiday destination this is for getting to know lesotho properly. This is the largest national park in lesotho, located within the front range maluti mountains. Sehlabathebe means the shield of the plateau, mirroring the rolling grasslands, wild flowers and silence provide a sense. It is also one of the most unique places in the entire country. Get amazing deals on sehlabathebe national park tour packages from. Located in an eastern crook, where the maloti mountains greet the sunrise, it is a compact wilderness where cape vultures soar and jackals scavenge in afternoon shadows. This website is your first help for getting to the national parks of lesotho. Hi there, has anyone been to sehlabathebe national park recently.
An incredible 65 rock art sites have been documented within sehlabathebe national park. The best hotels in sehlabathebe national park for 2020. This is a summer rainfall area and thick mist is common. Valid passports must be presented at the bushmans nek police border post before setting off for the lodge. This lesotho northern park protects a highaltitude, 2,600metre 8,500 ft patch of rugged wilderness, including one of lesothos only stands of indigenous forest with a number of rare undergrowth. The biggest gap in the surfaced road network is the a3, a4, b46 and b45 between mokhotlong and qachas nek via sehonghong and sehlabathebe national park. This route is unsurfaced and parts of it are very rough, so a 4x4 with high clearance is all but mandatory. Sehlabathebe national park is one of three parks in lesotho. Background before you visit sehlabathebe national park, visit tripadvisor for the latest info and advice, written for travelers by travelers. Sehlabathebe lodge hotel in lesotho enchanting travels. We are planning on going in two weeks but cannot seem to get in touch with the park for camping reservations, as all the email addresses we have tried have bounced back, except for a cryptic one that only mentioned that there is a problem with the park. About 45 minutes after you descend the matebeng pass coming from thaba tseka or sani you get the sehlabathebe ranger station it is situated just outside the sehlabathebe national park and is a perfect base to explore the park.
Getting there from south africa is easy a gravel road from the ramatselisos. Please check skyscanner, or for multipledestination flights check. Hiking aside, sehlabathebe can also be explored on horseback, and there is excellent trout fishing on the tsoelikana river, where an attractive waterfall tumbles over a low cliff into a chilly natural swimming pool. Tsehlanyane national park is a marvellous highaltitude park with floral rarities, indigenous woodlands and is a real highlight for nature lovers. Get to the heart of sehlabathebe national park with one of lonely planets indepth, awardwinning guidebooks. Feb 23, 2017 this video provides insights into photography in the sehlabathebe national park. Sehlabathebe national park, lesotho social travel network. This video provides insights into photography in the sehlabathebe national park. Home to both striking biological diversity as well as important cultural heritage, the park was first established on may 8, 1969. If you are looking for sehlabathebe national park holiday accommodation, safarinow has a selection of holiday accommodation in sehlabathebe national park and surrounds. It is 6500 hectares in extent, all averaging 2400 metres above sea level. The site has exceptional natural beauty in its soaring basaltic buttresses, incisive dramatic cutbacks, and golden sandstone ramparts as well as visually. The park encompasses over 5000 hectres of rugged wilderness and mountains terrain.
Sehlabathebe national park travel lesotho lonely planet. Sehlabathebe national park travel guide at wikivoyage. The centerpiece of these tours is the oldest national park in lesotho, sehlabathebe national park which was created by lesothos first prime minister, chief leabua jonathan. Sehlabathebe national park occupies around 68 square kilometers on the very roof of. At the end of the road is a small lodge and a short hike east from there. History and facilities sehlabathebe means shield of the plateau. A far lessused route into the highlands than the northern road to mokhotlong, the mountain road from mount moorosi to sehlabathebe is ruggedly beautiful, and has the added bonus of the mighty senqu orange river winding. Another park worth exploring is the off the beaten path sehlabathebe national park. See more ideas about africa, africa travel and south africa.
Cave camp in sehlabathebe national park, sehlabathebe. Lesotho routes overland route planner lesotho destination. Malotidrakensberg park unesco world heritage site, south. We booked a campsite for the night at south camp and hit the sand again. Andre, who had been to sehlabathebe before, and asked him what it was like. There are 7 ways to get from washington to sehlabathebe national park by plane, car, train or bus. The nomination is the result of collaboration between the kingdo of lesotho and the republic of south africam dating from 1997 and in. A 4wd vehicle is essential since the roads are little more than rutted tracks.
Sehlabathebe stock photos download 54 royalty free photos. Lesothos first national park, proclaimed in 1970, is remote, rugged and beautiful, and getting there is always a worthwhile adventure, especially if youre into wilderness, seclusion and fishing. Lesotho sehlabathebe national park get this theme for. The best hotels in sehlabathebe national park of 2020. The average elevation of the park is some 2,400 metres which means you can get altitude sickness. While were not saying the others are going to be overly crowded, youll likely find even less signs of human life here. This site hosts 23 percent of the plant species in the whole of maluti drakensberg area. With an average elevation of 2400m, sehlabathebe offers panoramic views, incomparable natural beauty and astonishing solitude. Home to one of the very few indigenous woodlands in lesotho. Hiking and horse riding from sani top or the drakensberg. Oct 23, 2019 about 15 kilometres later we arrived at the entrance to nxai national park.
Sehlabathebe means the shield of the plateau, mirroring the rolling grasslands, wildflowers and silence provide a sense of complete isolation. The traditional way to get into the park is hiking or riding. The geological formations of snp represent geological processes spanning a period in excess of 200 million years, i. There is endless activities in lesotho such as pony rides, mountain biking, abseiling, birding, fishing only to mention a few. Lesothos only national park, sehlabathebe, is a mountain wilderness in the southeastern corner of the country, far from any towns.
With 0 listings in sehlabathebe national park, our handy sehlabathebe national park map search and great low prices, its easy to book the perfect holiday accommodation for your sehlabathebe. The best hotels in sehlabathebe national park of 2020 from r. Admiring the view from the sehlabathebe national park, it quickly becomes clear why lesotho is known as the kingdom in the sky. This park travel guide to sehlabathebe national park is an outline and needs more content. Sehlabathebe national park lesotho attractions lonely. Well, lowlands might not be the right word here, since the lowest parts. It is almost inaccessible since it is rather remote, but incredibly beautiful, with some shy antelope and rare birds. Durban to sehlabathebe national park 2 ways to travel. Sehlabathebe national park camping 4x4 community forum.