Lesotho

The country's top park features a beautiful, 56-sq-km patch of rugged wilderness, including one of Lesotho’s only stands of indigenous forest, at a high altitude of 2000m to 3000m. This underrated and underused place is about as far away from it all as you can get, and is perfect for hiking, horse riding and spotting elands.

This stunning 200m-plus waterfall is the site of the longest single-drop commercial abseil in the world (for which it actually holds a Guinness World Record). Book the abseil at the activity centre at Semonkong Lodge, and realise that you'll actually need to train the day before on a shorter drop, just to get the hang of it.

Offering 'Lesotho in a nutshell', Malealea is a deserving poster child for the mountain kingdom. Every sunset, village choirs and bands perform at the mountaintop lodge. Many of the activities are run in partnership with the community, and a proportion of tourist revenue and donations goes directly to supporting local projects. The views, meanwhile, are stupendous.

At 2874m, this lodge atop the Sani Pass stakes a claim to 'Africa's highest pub'. Bar trivia aside, cosy rondavels (round huts with a conical roof) and excellent meals (mains from M55) reward those who make the steep ascent from KwaZulu-Natal. Backpackers doss down the road in modern rooms that hold between two and six people.

This engineering marvel stores 1950 million cu metres of water bound for thirsty Gauteng, South Africa's most populated province. The high-altitude, 35.8-sq-km body of blue also generates hydroelectric power for Lesotho. Ringed by steep, green hillsides, the dam is a serene if surreal spot; even if you’re not impressed by engineering feats, the area makes for a relaxing pause.

This far-flung, lesser-visited park offers stunning rock formations, rolling grasslands, wildflowers and a feeling of isolation, though there's also a shiny new headquarters and a few rondavels at the entrance. Bearded vultures and rheboks can be viewed here, along with some of the country's most well-preserved San cave paintings, and in the summer angling is possible in the dams and rivers.

Roads are rough, meaning the best ways to arrive are via hiking or horse riding from Sani Top or the Drakensberg.

Lesotho's rugged interior boasts the country's two trademark sights: the breathtaking Maletsunyane Falls (204m), which are almost twice the height of the Victoria Falls and offer the world's longest commercially operated, single-drop abseil; and the human-made spectacle of Katse Dam, an engineering feat holding a shimmering lake surrounded by rippling mountain slopes. The area offers an incredible mix of scenery, activities and engineering marvels, accessed from the lowlands up tortuous but stunning passes such as the excellently named God Help Me Pass (2281m) and the Mafika-Lisiu Pass (3090m), one of Lesotho's most beautiful roads.

Leribe (also known as Hlotse) is a busy regional market hub. It served as an administrative centre under the British, as attested to by a few old buildings slowly decaying in the leafy streets. Nearby dinosaur footprints and its arts and crafts scene are the main attractions.

Teyateyaneng (Place of Quick Sands; usually known simply as ‘TY’) is the craft centre of Lesotho and is worth a stop to buy tapestries or watch them being made.