A patchwork of table-top bluffs and rock-ribbed escarpments whose boundaries are formed by the edges of a plateau, Lesotho is surprisingly a world apart from the Free State flats of South Africa that surround it. Here, seemingly endless mountain ranges replace the occasional monadnock peak, the Maluti highlands dominate the northern fringes of the nation with surprising snow-caked hills and even a ski resort, and the great smoky canyons of Semonkong carve through the heartlands of the nation. Trekking is – of course – a real treat here, with the sweeping backcountry vistas offering up everything from sheer-cut gorges to a peppering of yurt tribal villages inhabited by smiling Basotho folk. Pony riding is the real pull though, and travelers flock here to mount the region’s strong-backed Basotho steeds and scale the craggy paths of Malealea and beyond. Cave paintings and pre-historic dino fossils also beckon, while Lesotho tour guides show off curious hat-shaped builds and international eateries in the capital of Maseru.