Lesotho: the capital, population and attractions

Even a very small country can be original and original. Especially if it is located on such an exotic continent as Africa. It is there that Lesotho is a small state, surrounded on all sides by the borders of South Africa. It is not very well known to tourists, and completely in vain. What is the capital of the country called Lesotho and what interesting things can you tell about these regions?

Maseru

The main city of this state is called that way. The Kingdom of Lesotho is surrounded by the border of the Republic of South Africa from all sides. In the capital, this is particularly noticeable. The city ends with state borders on three sides. Perhaps, if it is necessary to find the most undiscovered center of the African country, the leader in the list will be the capital of Lesotho. The Kingdom of Lesotho has an interesting nature and ancient culture, but you will not find them in the main city. Maseru is a boring town with only a few streets. There are surprisingly few high-rise buildings, and the attractions are limited to supermarkets. Outside the central streets are typical African houses that can be seen in any chaotically built village. However, at least once a continent enthusiastic tourist should see Lesotho. The capital allows you to find a surprisingly cheap accommodation - just four hundred rand you will get a cottage with a kitchen for the night. The local currency rate is easy to calculate. One US dollar equals seven rand. What is unusual, spending the night in the capital is quite budgetary not only by the standards of Africa, but also within the state itself - at national attractions you will have to pay for spending the night about two hundred rand more.

Visa regime

The capital of the state of Lesotho is located at the border, so you can get there from South Africa through several checkpoints. The traveler does not need a visa - you will simply put a stamp on your passport. Guests of the country simply write in a special notebook, after which you can safely go to explore the mysterious edge of Lesotho. The main asphalt road of the state is located in the center of Maseru. Therefore, often the first thing that tourists see in Lesotho is the capital. The most accurate and equipped checkpoints are right here. There are eight in total, and some of them are located directly on a dusty country road without asphalt, in a small house of a very modest kind. If you want exotics, look for exactly this, but for the familiar form of the border to enter it is near the capital of the country.

Interesting Facts

There are several amazing features that distinguish Lesotho. The capital is glad to tourists, but not to their cameras: photography here often causes displeasure and even anger. Passers-by will look at your camera obliquely, guards can make comments, and even the main temple Maseru better not to capture: the abbot may want a personal conversation, and she will not be friendly. There is no explanation for such a wary attitude, but for some reason all important objects are for some reason considered secret.

In fact, the most interesting and unusual details are waiting for you far away from Maseru. It is worth going to the interior of the country, to where the asphalt roads end and the mountains begin. There you can see the ancient Lesotho. The capital is filled with modernity and inscriptions in English, and far from the civilization there are still local tribes of sotzes wandering around in loincloths that preserved the original culture of the state untouchable.

Main attraction

What is it worth to look in Lesotho? Information about the country may seem scant, but this state still deserves attention, primarily because of the most important local landmark. It is a mountainous country, and the most beautiful place also has a height, although it has an artificial character. Dam Katze - the second largest in Africa, a structure that can be called one of the wonders of the world. To go to it from the capital you need a picturesque mountain serpentine, which in itself deserves attention. On the way you can see traditional buildings made of stone with a thatched roof and climb to the pass at a height of three thousand meters above sea level. I do not have to miss you definitely. The pass is the highest in Africa, and on other continents such occur infrequently. Soon after, you can already see a huge reservoir stretching for 50 kilometers. It was created within the framework of a special project developed with South Africa. It aims at collecting and transferring water from mountain regions to areas characterized by dry weather.

Then to the attention of travelers the dam opens. The height of the main part is almost 200 meters, and the width - 710. It took 2 million tons of concrete for its construction. The excursion is daily carried out along the dam: the beginning - at 9 and 14 o'clock. In its framework, you can get inside, but it's forbidden to photograph in the process. In the dam, there are many picturesque tunnels, elevators, locks and high-tech equipment. You can stop at the hotel in a hotel, from the windows of which you can see this wonderful building.

History of the country

A small island on the map appeared as a result of Anglo-Boer wars of the nineteenth century, when the Wehs, the people of Lesotho, decided to conclude an alliance with the British. They fought them together against neighboring Africans. The Boers now and then seized the lands of the calves and thereby reduced the territory of the kingdom, so the decision to participate in the war against them was obvious. As a result, the British won, subjugated the entire southern part of the continent and allocated for the allies a small piece of land - a protectorate called Basutoland. However, for a long time, the Sottsy never received real independence, and part of the historical territories remained outside the region designated for the kingdom on the map.

Lesotho and South Africa

Despite the difficult history, now the country still gained sovereignty. Interestingly, the capital of the kingdom of Lesotho is surrounded on three sides by the border of South Africa, and the influence of a large neighbor on the state is immeasurable, but independence in these parts appeared much later. The Boers had long existed in the country of apartheid, and in the center of their territory there was a section of English land - a protectorate. Only in 1966 Lesotho was granted independence from Britain. However, the influence of the European country is noticeable here and now. English is even the second official language on a par with the national dialect sesoto. All signs and posters remind of British rule. Price lists in the store are also in English. In a word, a tourist who is unfamiliar with exotic dialects, it will not be difficult to find a common language with the locals. At the moment, the population of the country is 2 031 000 people.