There are fourteen border posts from South Africa into Lesotho - from the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. All the Free State border crossings, and Tele Bridge (daily 6am-10pm) in the Eastern Cape, cross over into the Lesotho lowlands and are much more accessible than the others, which enter via the Drakensberg. The latter include the famous Sani Pass (daily 8am-4pm), which requires a 4WD, although alternative transport is provided by local backpackers' lodges. The Ficksburg Bridge and Maseru Bridge crossings (both 24hr), are the busiest in the country.

 

The drive from Bloemfontein to Maseru is an easy 200km east along the N8. From Durban, turn off towards Ficksburg at Bethlehem, and then either cross the border at Maputsoe and drive down through Lesotho, or continue on to Ladybrand and cross the border at Maseru. Driving from the Eastern Cape to Maseru is more fiddly, and if you want to stay on tarred roads for as long as possible, remain in South Africa at least until Wepener, from where you can cross into Mafeteng through the Van Rooyen's Gate border post (daily 6am-10pm), or continue through Hobhouse on the Ladybrand road, taking the right-hand fork to Maseru.

Lesotho's only international airport , Moshoeshoe I, is 18km south of Maseru, but the only scheduled flights are the daily links to Johannesburg run by SA Airlink (tel 011 978 1111).