Capital of the country since its independence in 1966, the only large city of Lesotho has about 150 000 inhabitants. Located on the border with the Free State on the strategic Mohokare River, it was first a British military camp, then an administrative capital, and is now the economic centre of the country. It is around the Kingsway, as the main commercial axis is called, that the two central districts of the city have developed. To the west, the district of the administrations, company headquarters and banks. To the east, small shops, markets and street vendors. You can find the same brands as in South Africa, and the country has not escaped the fashion for "malls", these American-style shopping centres that abound on the other side of the border. The Pionneer Mall opened in 2009 and was the first of its kind in the country. So the traditional mud brick and thatch huts have been replaced by concrete block huts. Along the wide Moshoeshoe Road in the north, and in the Thetsane district in the south, you will see flour, textile, especially mohair, and shoe factories. There are also carpet and candle factories. Maseru's hotel scene developed in the 1970s, when gambling was banned in South Africa and the city had two casinos. All the South African roulette and blackjack enthusiasts used to come and bet their money here in Lesotho. Since then, things have changed and it is in the mountains that responsible ecotourism is developing. Maseru is not very interesting for tourists, except to feel the atmosphere of a popular African town, with its joyful anarchy, its markets and its overloaded suits, its traditional coloured blankets, which are not found on the craft markets because they come out of the wool/mohair factory. Because mohair is the speciality of the area... If you have rented in self-catering, think of doing your shopping, withdrawing cash and filling up with fuel before climbing in the mountains to meet a marvellous landscape and the farmers who go around on donkeys, wrapped up in their traditional blankets!

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