Las Vegas Shopping Mall in Butha Buthe Lesotho, Africa
It's not often in your travels that you feel that you have suddenly been put in the middle of a location shoot for the latest Michael Palin "Unusual Travel Places" documentary but believe me Butha Buthe is exactly that! Totally Wonderful, Bizarre & Surreal.....You find that you are the only outside visitors in the middle of a small town in a country that few outside of Africa have ever heard of.
Lesotho (formerly Basutoland) is also known as the Mountain Kingdom because it is the only independent state in the world that lies entirely above 1,000 meters (3,300 ft) in elevation. Its lowest point is 1,400 meters (4,593 ft), and over 80% of the country lies above 1,800 metres (5,900 ft).
Not far from the Caledonspoort Lesotho border post with South Africa, and the last major town before the Highlands, BUTHA-BUTHE has a frontier feel. The main road is clustered with takeaway restaurants and stores, and the pavements are filled with Highlanders here for their monthly shopping trip. The town was founded in 1884 because the local chief refused to go to Hlotse to pay taxes, necessitating a new tax centre nearer his residence.
Lesotha has received more coverage in the last year or two due to Prince Harry spending time there doing work with orphans during his gap year - Since that time Prince Harry and Lesotho's Prince Seeiso (the brother of Lesotho's King Letsie III ) have launched a charity in Lesotho to support children orphaned by Aids, It is called Sentebale, which in Sotho means "forget me not". www.sentebale.org
Las Vegas Shopping Mall in Butha Buthe Lesotho, Africa
It's not often in your travels that you feel that you have suddenly been put in the middle of a location shoot for the latest Michael Palin "Unusual Travel Places" documentary but believe me Butha Buthe is exactly that! Totally Wonderful, Bizarre & Surreal.....You find that you are the only outside visitors in the middle of a small town in a country that few outside of Africa have ever heard of.
Lesotho (formerly Basutoland) is also known as the Mountain Kingdom because it is the only independent state in the world that lies entirely above 1,000 meters (3,300 ft) in elevation. Its lowest point is 1,400 meters (4,593 ft), and over 80% of the country lies above 1,800 metres (5,900 ft).
Not far from the Caledonspoort Lesotho border post with South Africa, and the last major town before the Highlands, BUTHA-BUTHE has a frontier feel. The main road is clustered with takeaway restaurants and stores, and the pavements are filled with Highlanders here for their monthly shopping trip. The town was founded in 1884 because the local chief refused to go to Hlotse to pay taxes, necessitating a new tax centre nearer his residence.
Lesotha has received more coverage in the last year or two due to Prince Harry spending time there doing work with orphans during his gap year - Since that time Prince Harry and Lesotho's Prince Seeiso (the brother of Lesotho's King Letsie III ) have launched a charity in Lesotho to support children orphaned by Aids, It is called Sentebale, which in Sotho means "forget me not". www.sentebale.org