Sehlabathebe

Sehlabathebe National Park was established in 1969 at the eastern end of Lesotho, in the Qacha's Nek district, beside the South African border, and protects some 65 km². It is the country's only national park.

It occupies a basalt plateau above 2,400 metres, on the edge of the Drakensberg escarpment, with a landscape of high grassland, wetlands, streams and sandstone formations eroded into arches, caves and balanced blocks. The climate is extreme, with frequent snow and frost.

Its fauna includes species exclusive or almost exclusive to the massif: the Sehlabathebe malachite frog, endemic to these heights, and Oreodaimon quathlambae, a small fish thought extinct for decades until its rediscovery in the park's streams. The bearded vulture and the southern bald ibis fly over the area. In 2013 the park was added to the World Heritage property uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park in South Africa, which was renamed the Maloti-Drakensberg Park and became transboundary between the two countries.