Mokhotlong District

Mokhotlong district is a district of Lesotho. The name of the city is a word in Sesotho, the language of the people of Lesotho, meaning "Place of the Bald Ibis". It includes the highest terrain in the Maloti Range and the source of the Senqu River, Lesotho’s primary watershed. The district is host to one of the biggest diamond mines in the country. It borders with South Africa - KwaZulu-Natal and Free State, while domestically it borders with, Butha-Buthe, Leribe and Thaba-Tseka. 

The mountain range is host to activities including hiking trails, horse trails, rock climbing, white water rafting, fly and trout fishing, golfing, bird and game watching, safaris, and much more. In addition to regular activities, Mokhotlong hosts the annual High Altitude Summer Marathon at the end of the year. The route runs through the Maloti Mountains and is characterized by great views of both mountains and villages. At 3000 meters above sea level, if the scenery does not take the runner’s breath away, the steep ascents and descents will. There are also half marathon and 10k events, in addition to the full marathon.

Mokhotlong is also on the route of the annual Roof of Africa Rally, an off-road motorcycle rally. Mokhotlong is home to the highest-elevated diamond mine in the world, Letseng diamond mine, which can be toured, and is often frequented by local students as part of their course of study. Its diamonds have the highest per carat price of any kimberlite mine, and with the capacity to process more than 5 million tonnes a year and recover about 100,000 carats, it is the seventh largest in the world. Three of their diamonds are among the world’s top twenty rough diamonds.

Mokhotlong is the capital or camptown, and only town in the district.