Senqu River

A valley older than any record of it

The Senqunyane River cuts a sandstone gorge through central Lesotho with cliff walls steep enough to keep most people out. On the descent, the walls close in and the sounds of the plateau fade. What waits at the bottom is a river that barely looks like it's been visited — because, for the most part, it hasn't.

The valley holds rock art and archaeological sites from the Middle Stone Age — evidence the Senqunyane has been pulling people in for far longer than any written record. The river is also home to the Rock-catfish, a rare species found in very few places outside this stretch of water.