My friend Rochelle, went to Lesotho last month. Lesotho, a high-altitude, landlocked kingdom encircled by South Africa, is crisscrossed by a network of rivers and mountain ranges including the 3,482m-high peak of Thaana Ntlenyana (Thanks Wikipedia). It is home to the Basotho people and they speak South Sotho or Sesotho. English is understood. 70% of the population survive on agriculture. In the lowlands corn is the primary product and in the highlands the land is used for grazing cattle- mostly sheep. Lesotho’s top 3 GDP are water, diamonds and textiles.

Rochelle went with her husband and friends on behalf of her church to go and donate school uniforms to an orphanage in Semonkong. Semonkong is a village located in the Maseru District of Lesotho, high up in the mountains.

The picture below is of the orphanage in Semonkong where orphans, are washing their clothes in the river.

Little boys , as young as 5 years old are trained as shepherds.

Maletsunye Falls is one of the highest single dropping waterfalls in Africa.
As the water plummets 186 metres into an amazing gorge,  it creates a haze
of smoke and that is where the name Semonkong comes from – The Place of
Smoke.

There are many rondavels ( a traditional African dwelling whose walls are made with mud&/ rock and have a thatched roof). They stayed in rondavels and inside the rondavels it is very cosy, beautifully decorated, clean and there is a fireplace.
The views are simply stunning.

They were given directions to the village and they had to drive past their “Curio /Souvenir Shop” first. Rochelle laughed out loud when she saw the “shop”.

Thanks to Rochelle for the wonderful photos and description. Lesotho looks like an awesome place to visit! Love their beautiful thick blankets.