The Kingdom In The Sky Beautiful, culturally rich, safe, affordable and easily accessible from Durban and Johannesburg, mountainous Lesotho is a vastly underrated travel destination. This is essentially an alpine country, where villagers on horseback in multicolored balaclavas and blankets greet you round precipitous bends.

The hiking and trekking - often on a famed Basotho pony - is world class and the infrastructure of the three stunning national parks continues to improve. An astonishingly beautiful country, this 'Mountain Kingdom' needs to be seen to be believed.

Key Facts • Total Size: 30,355 square km • General Terrain: mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains • Geographical High Point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m • Climate: temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers • Major cities: MASERU (capital) population of 220,000 • Languages Spoken: Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa • Independence: 4 October 1966 • Nationality: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural) • Religions: Christian 80 percent, indigenous beliefs 20 percent • National Symbol: Basotho hat • National Anthem or Song: Lesotho fatse la bo ntat'a rona (Lesotho, Land of Our Fathers) • Economy of Lesotho Major Industries: food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts, construction, tourism, subsistence farming • Agricultural Products: corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock • Natural Resources: water, agricultural and grazing land, diamonds, sand, clay, building stone • Major Exports: manufactures 75 percent (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food, and live animals • Major Imports: food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products • Currency: loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) • National GDP: $ 3,723,000,000. .