Three Peaks challenges in Lesotho

The landscapes of Lesotho

Lesotho's identity is closely tied to high ground. Surrounded entirely by South Africa, it contains extensive plateaux, hills and rugged mountains, with even its lower regions belonging to an elevated inland landscape rather than a coastal plain.

The Maloti Mountains occupy much of Lesotho's interior, with the eastern escarpment connecting to the Drakensberg. River valleys cut deeply into the elevated plateau, including the headwater country of the Senqu. Even the western lowlands are high above sea level, so the contrast is between different forms of upland terrain.