Sprawling
MASERU , the nation's capital and only big town, spills east from the Caledon River, which marks the border with South Africa. Maseru's older buildings, as well as some stylish new ones, are built from well-crafted local sandstone, now recognized as the town's vernacular building material, though a number of ill-thought-out concrete box buildings diminish the effect, and unfortunately dominate the skyline. Most of the daytime action happens on or around the Kingsway, the road which runs through town, getting more and more downmarket and lively as it heads east towards the cathedral. It is along Kingsway, particularly in the less-affluent sections further up town, where you will see the charred shells of shopping centres looted in the riots of 1998. Some were quickly demolished and redeveloped into bright, modern malls, but others provide a backdrop to lively street stalls and hawkers, who have undoubtedly profited from the demise of their more institutionalized competitors. The tension that brought about the riots has dissipated, and as long as you take the precautions you would in any other city on the continent, you can walk around here comfortably.
Maseru is only a short drive from some beautiful walking country, although the true splendours of the country lie further east and into the Highlands. The capital is also the only place where you can book for the Sehlabathebe National Park. If you need to stock up on supplies, you should do so in Maseru before heading off elsewhere, although it's not great for souvenirs, lacking the craft selection of Teya-Teyaneng
The City
With little of architectural merit appearing from Maseru's recent rush of new building, the city's most famous landmark is still the appropriately shaped
Basotho Hat Building , which stands on the corner of Kingsway and Orpen Road, opposite the
Victoria Hotel . During the 1998 riots, the thatched roof of the original building made a spectacular bonfire, but a replacement was quickly erected, this time with room for an upstairs restaurant and balcony café as well as the established craft shop on the ground floor. A little way east along the Kingsway, you'll find more crafts, mostly woven grass Sotho hats, sold on the pavements outside the tourist office, though further down Orpen Road there's a more upmarket selection at Mohair Cottage, a foyer boutique in the
Maseru Sun .
Walking from the Basotho Hat Building up the Kingsway, into the main part of town, look out for the Alliance Française in the interesting old sandstone library, corner of Pioneer and Kingsway, and the former Anglican church in a scruffy park area in front of Lancers Inn on your right, and then, to the left, the striking Post Office , ready evidence of Maseru's intention to create an image of being a thoroughly modern African capital. Nearby are a number of single-storey sandstone buildings, many dating from the end of the last century, though few are treated with much veneration. A little further up on the left, it's worth pausing to look at the old Resident Commissioner's House , now a government department, built in sandstone in 1891 and now restored, making it one of Maseru's finest buildings once again. Across the road, look out for one of the world's very few prefabricated national libraries. The large Queen Elizabeth II Hospital is a short distance further up, also on the right. From here on the Kingsway is busier, its low-priced shops thronged by shoppers, and informal traders touting everything from Sotho fast food to cutlery made of galvanized iron. In a new mall on the left-hand side, just past the Sales House store, the Lesotho Blanket Company sells the best-priced Sotho blankets in Lesotho, while J's Music Bar, next door, has the widest selection of Sotho and South African music cassettes in town.
The Kingsway comes to an end at the traffic circle by the impressively large, though architecturally unremarkable, Roman Catholic Cathedral , and splits into Main Road North and Main Road South. Continue along Main Road North, turning right a few kilometres further on to reach Lancers Gap, where the particularly striking mountain pass has good views over the town.
