Thaba Putsoa Range — Maluti Highland Plateau Dispersed Camp

The Thaba Putsoa range sits in the heart of Lesotho’s mountain interior, rising above 2,800 metres on the flanks of the Maluti massif between Maseru and Semonkong. Overlanders running the highland traverse find wide, flat grassland terraces on the ridge shoulders where you can pull off the track, level out a rig, and wake up to an unbroken horizon of basalt peaks. No facilities, no signage, no crowd — just cold, thin air and the occasional Basotho shepherd moving stock at dusk. Temperatures drop hard even in summer; a four-season sleeping kit is not optional here.

Access tracks are dirt and rough-dirt, often rutted after rain. High-clearance 4WD is the minimum — ground clearance matters more than traction on the dry-season corrugations. Cell signal is effectively nonexistent on the plateau. Carry at least two days of water; streams are present but seasonal and require treatment. Summer afternoons bring fast-moving lightning storms — camp early and stake down hard.

Basalt plateau bivouac, 2,800m, zero company.