Sehlabathebe-Nationalpark

The Sehlabathebe National Park [ seɬɑbɑt ɛbɛ ʰ ] (from Sesotho sehlaba, plateau ' and thebe, sign', ie ' shield plateau " ) is the only official National Park in Lesotho. It was founded in 1969 and was appointed in 2013 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Geography

The national park is situated in the Maloti Mountains in the far southeast of the country on the border with South Africa. It belongs to the district Qacha 's Nek, is 65 square kilometers in size and is an average of around 2,450 meters above sea level. It outweigh wide grasslands and sandstone formations that reach here their greatest height, while in the rest of Lesotho basalt occurs at this level. On the northern edge of the national park are towering basalt mountains, which are up to 2900 meters high. The area is crossed by several year-round water-bearing rivers like the Tsoelikane and has numerous wetlands on. The park is the Tsoelikane waterfall.

In the National Park there are a small number of accommodation. He is part of the cross-border Maloti -Drakensberg Transfrontier Conservation Area (about: Maloti - Drakensberg - Transboundary Conservation Area). A twelve- kilometer border connects it to the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park in South Africa. A walk to the border post Ngoangoana Border Post or Bushman's Nek connects both areas.

History

The area was long inhabited by San, who left rock paintings here at least 65 digits. The Sehlabathebe National Park was created on May 8, 1969, three years after the independence of Lesotho. It is named after a nearby area west of the settlement. Originally he had been set up without a firm legal basis as Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park ( Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park ). Only with the National Park Act of 2001, he was officially recognized as a national park. In 2008 he was included in the list of candidates for the UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 2013 he was accepted as part of the Maloti Drakensberg Trans- boundary World Heritage site, the greater part of uKhahlamba -Drakensberg Park is in the UNESCO world heritage.

Flora, fauna and climate

Due to the small population of the surrounding area and the secluded location that makes it difficult for tourists to get there, numerous plant and animal species can develop there. They include endemic species such as the Fish Pseudobarbus quathlambae and Sehlabathebe water lily ( Aponogeton ranunculiflorus ), which are only protected in the National Park. The plant species belong to the Afro- alpine and sub-alpine species. It is because of its proximity to the Indian Ocean and in summer often drops in temperature and strong wind.

Others

The Tsehlanyane National Park in the district Butha -Buthe is another reserve in Lesotho, but is not officially recognized as a National Park.