Maseru, Lesotho

Kingsway in Maseru, Lesotho
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:KingswayMaseru.jpg
Author: Michael Denne


Maseru is the capital and only town of any substantial size in Lesotho. Located at an elevation of 1,600 m (5,200 ft) above sea level, it covers 138 sq km (53 sq mi) and has a population of 230,000 people (2012 estimate).

Maseru comes from the local Sesotho word for "place of the red sandstone". It began as a police camp in 1869, after the country, then Basutoland, became a British protectorate at the end of the Free State-Basotho Wars. It was part of the conquered territories carved out of the Orange Free State, today Free State provide of South Africa.

Maseru began serving as the administrative capital of Basutoland in 1869. A period of warfare took place from 1871 to 1884, but in the end, it has its status as Crown colony restored, and was again made capital. Upon independence in 1966, Basutoland became the Kingdom of Lesotho, with Maseru as its capital.

The Basotho Hat Shop in Maseru
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BasothoHatShop.jpg
Author: Michael Denne

Visiting Maseru

The Moshoeshoe I International Airport, on the west central part of Lesotho, is the airport serving the country. Located 18 km (11 mi) to the southeast of Maseru, it receives all flights from Johannesburg.

Places of Interest in Maseru

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Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

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