Community tours around Semonkong town

Semonkong Lodge supports responsible ecotourism and community collaboration that’s mutually beneficial for the community and travellers. We do things consciously and always want our guests to have organic interactions with the people who live in town, without anything being scripted or put on show. What you’ll see during our three cultural community tours is a true representation of daily life in Semonkong. It gives you the opportunity to have sincere interactions, to ask questions, and to learn more about the history, heritage, culture and way of life in our beloved Lesotho. In partnership with our local community, we offer three guided cultural tours around Semonkong town. These include a walking tour of Semonkong, a traditional Basotho blanket presentation, and a donkey pub crawl.

Semonkong town tour

We believe that a Lesotho trip should include cultural immersion accompanied by informative narration from a guide. Learn what it’s like to live in Semonkong as you walk the streets, meet the locals, grab a drink at a brewery, and visit the market place. Watch the comings and goings of the Basotho people, as supplies are loaded onto pack horses before they navigate single-track mountain passes to a network of remote villages. If you wish, you can also indulge in a traditional Basotho lunch at an owner-run restaurant.

LSL150 per person (with an option of lunch at an additional LSL50)

Traditional Basotho blanket presentation with ‘M’e Masetho

A brisk walk (or drive) from Semonkong Lodge over the bridge into town, sees you welcomed to ‘M’e Masetho’s homestead along Semonkong’s main road. She lays out an assortment of traditional Basotho blankets called likobo as she passionately narrates their cultural significance to the Basotho, alongside their 19th-century history and present-day uses. ‘M’e Masetho is the best person to ask about the significance of the colours, designs, and motifs to better understand how this traditional tribal garment of the ‘mountain people’ has evolved to become so much more than a way of staying warm at high altitudes in winter. Likobo also indicate one’s societal hierarchy, occupation and tribe. To this day, Basotho blankets are woven from a mixture of wool and acrylic, using traditional methods and with a single characteristic pin-stripe. If you’re looking for a beautiful (and useful) souvenir from your holiday in Lesotho, ‘M’e Masetho has a wide selection to choose from. She will show you how to wear a Basotho blanket as an over-shoulder shawl and how to wrap it around your body like a cloak.

LSL140 per person (depending on group size) paid directly to ‘M’e Masetho

Donkey pub crawl in Lesotho

When was the last time you rode a donkey? Now imagine yourself riding a donkey on a bar hopping experience through Semonkong town. This unusual way to explore the small mountain village should be top of your list of ‘things to do in Lesotho’. It offers a unique insight into the realities of daily life of the Basotho people – as children walk to and from school, neighbours tip their conical straw hats at each other, and women buy Basotho blankets ahead of a celebration. It’s an opportunity to meet the town’s residents at their local drinking holes and to learn more about the Kingdom of Lesotho from her people. Perhaps, you’ll be challenged to an informal dance off, a game of pool, a hand of poker, or a round of darts at any of the three to four bars you’ll visit (depending on how much time you want to spend at each of them). This three-hour tour starts at 3pm, once you’ve partaken in some of our other activities or finished tucking into lunch at the Duck and Donkey Tavern. 

LSL275 per person (all alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks at own cost)