A dilapidated but pleasant little lowland town named after the local river, HLOTSE was founded in 1876 by an Anglican missionary, Reverend John Widdicombe, and suffered repeated siege during the 1880 Gun War. Since then, it has kept a low profile and, apart from a few shops and department stores, the only thing to see in town are the battered remains of a small military tower built by the British and now practically falling down.

 

There are, however, one or two local attractions, including a set of dinosaur footprints a few kilometres south of the town, left off the Main Road North to T.Y., at the turn-of-the-century Tsikoane Mission . You'll need to climb up the rock overhang above the church, preferably with the help of a guide (ask at the mission), where you'll find over forty reasonably clear imprints. Rather more accessible is Leribe Craft Centre (daily 8am-5pm), on the right-hand side as you head north, where the exit road from Hlotse meets the main road. Here you can buy mohair scarves, blankets and table mats, along with a small selection of other crafts, made by a team of local women, about half of whom have disabilities.

On the road north of Hlotse towards Butha-Buthe, you will see on your right the Leribe Plateau , which gives the town its alternative name, with the Leribe Mission , founded in 1859 by François Coillard, at its foot. French and Sotho missionaries headed from here to modern-day Zambia in the 1870s, founding the Barotseland Mission there. The mission is only a short walk off the main road, although there's little to see there.