​Expert Reviews – Sehlabathebe NP

Sort By: Most helpful 1-1 of 1 Reviews
Expert
Philip Briggs   –  
South Africa ZA
Visited: Early summer

Philip is an acclaimed travel writer and author of many guidebooks, including the Bradt guides to Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa.

A Giant’s Playground of Boulders & Rock Arches
Overall rating
3/5

Lesotho’s oldest national park, established in 1970, and incorporated into Unesco’s cross-border Maloti-Drakensberg World Heritage Site in 2008, doesn’t claim to be a conventional safari destination. But as one of the most remote conservation areas in southern Africa, 65km2/25mi2 Sehlabathebe does offer hikers and adventurous travellers a hard-to-beat combination of stunning mountain scenery and an isolated wilderness atmosphere.

Sehlabathebe’s most striking feature, about 30 minutes by car from the entrance gate, is a surreal giant’s playground of rock arches, natural dolmens and rock pools sculpted by the erosion of sandstone strata beneath harder igneous rocks. These formations are set below the Devil’s Knuckles, an imperious trio of prominent peaks that rise to above 3,000m/9,840ft on the border with South Africa.

There is some wildlife around. We encountered several pairs of grey rhebok, a twitchy white-tailed antelope endemic to South Africa, and also saw plenty of rock hyraxes sunning themselves on the rocks. More unexpected was an early morning encounter with a black-backed jackal as it trotted along the road, and while we didn’t see any eland or chacma baboon, our guide confirmed they are resident.

Bird-wise, Sehlabathebe is a good place to look out for Afromontane specials such as Cape vulture, jackal buzzard and Drakensberg siskin, while the rare bearded vulture (lammergeyer) breeds in the vicinity.

We visited the most accessible of the park’s 65 prehistoric rock art sites, a large and well-preserved panel that includes some clear depictions of elands, a herd of smaller antelope, and several human figures.

Sehlabathebe is not suited to conventional holidaymakers. It lies at least two hours from Qacha’s Nek (the closest town) along a rough 4x4-only road, and facilities are limited to self-catering chalets. But this remote scenic gem is highly recommended to those who enjoy off-the-beaten-track rambling, hiking and horse riding, and there’s a good chance you’ll have the run of the place to yourself.

Average Expert Rating

  • 3.7/5
  • Wildlife
  • Scenery
  • Bush Vibe
  • Birding

Rating Breakdown

  • 5 star 0
  • 4 star 2
  • 3 star 1
  • 2 star 0
  • 1 star 0
Write a User Review