The Maloti Mountains are a mountain range of the highlands of the Kingdom of Lesotho. They extend for about 100 km into the South African Free State. The Maloti Range is part of the Drakensberg system that includes ranges across large areas of South Africa. “Maloti” is also the plural for Loti, the currency of the Kingdom of Lesotho. The range forms the northern portion of the boundary between the Butha-Buthe District in Lesotho and South Africa’s Free State.
The Maluti Mountains, part of the larger Drakensberg system, are a significant landmark in Lesotho and the Free State, with visible history dating back at least 30,000 years. The range is known for its high alpine basalt plateau, reaching heights of up to 3400m, and is home to Thabana Ntlenyana, the highest peak in Southern Africa. The Maluti Mountains also have a rich cultural history, with traditional Basotho culture thriving in villages throughout the region.
The Maloti-Drakensberg Mountains form a steep escarpment along South Africa’s border with the mountain kingdom of Lesotho. It is one of the five world heritage sites in Africa that satisfy the Convention’s natural and cultural criteria. From a cultural perspective it is outstanding for the wealth of its rock art heritage, created over a period of about 4,000 years by San hunter-gatherer people. The San and their ancestors have lived in rock shelters and caves in these mountains for about 8,000 years, producing an incredible quantity and variety of paintings right up until the time the last San were driven out (or killed) from the area a little over 100 years ago.
There are more than 600 individual rock-art sites ranging from large rock-shelters containing over 1,000 individual images to small rock overhangs or the vertical faces of fallen boulders with only a few paintings. More than 22,000 individual paintings have been recorded, mostly images of animals, especially eland – a type of large antelope that was clearly revered as the San’s most important hunting quarry. Many sites show scenes of hunting, dancing, fighting, food gathering, ritual and trance. Human subjects often appear naked, but some of the more recent images show dressed figures clad in a variety of garments, recalling the early days of the colonial era.
The bioregion is made up of sandstone and shale overlain by basalt. The mountain’s rough terrain makes it less accessible to visitors and prevented any significant exploitation of its mineral resources. The topography differs between the two countries. In Lesotho, the mountain range is made up of a continuous landscape of more rounded mountains with deep valleys that drain into Lesotho’s Senqu River, known as the Orange River in South Africa. In South Africa, sheer basalt cliffs drop off from the trans-frontier into foothills composed of sandstone. This rock is incised by the rivers that flow eastwards.
The area is usually dry between May and September, which are largely winter months. It experiences snow every month of the year. The snow and drainage, which includes the Orange River, Tugela River and the tributaries of the Caledon River make this the source of much of Southern Africa’s fresh water.
The sources of two of the principal rivers in South Africa, the Orange River, known as Senqu in Lesotho, and the Tugela River, are in these mountains. Tributaries of the Caledon River, known as Mohokare in Lesotho, which forms the country’s western border, also rise here, and the Makhaleng River rises on the flanks of Machache (2,886 m (9,469 feet)).
The two countries are also largely economically different—with Lesotho being one of the least developed countries in the world and South Africa being among Africa’s biggest economies. Socially, Lesotho and the Free State province of South Africa both have Sotho as the dominant culture. Like much of Lesotho, this bioregion is significantly rural and with limited commercial activity. South Africa has established and diversified the economy of the area, using it for agriculture and tourism. The topography in the South African portion makes it more accessible and useful for livestock farming, crop production and tourism. Temperature extremes in winter and summer also cause seasonal limitations. The mountain range also contains both of southern Africa’s only ski resorts, Tiffindell Ski Resort and Afriski.
