The best way to understand a culture is to share its food. Shop at a Maseru market, cook with a Basotho family and eat an open-fire meal in a highland village.
Basotho cooking is simple, seasonal and built for mountain life. At its heart is papa, a stiff maize porridge eaten with the hands, served with moroho (cooked leafy greens), beans or slow-cooked meat. Breakfast is often motoho, a lightly fermented sorghum porridge, and fresh bohobe (bread) is steamed or baked at home.
Traditional sorghum beer, joala, is brewed for celebrations and shared from the same vessel. Lamb, mutton and beef come from the herds you'll see on every hillside.
Our food tours let you taste all of this in context, in homes, markets and villages, with your guide explaining the customs that go with each dish.
Food TourStart at a Maseru market with your guide, then head to a local home to cook a traditional Basotho meal together. Taste papa, moroho and seasonal dishes, and learn the customs around sharing food.
Food + CultureDrive into the highlands to visit farming communities, meet shepherds and see how wool and mohair are produced, then share a meal cooked over an open fire with a local family.
Papa, a stiff maize porridge, is the everyday staple. It's usually served with moroho (leafy greens), beans or meat.
Yes. Let us know when you book and we'll plan the menu with your hosts.
Joala, a sorghum beer, is mildly alcoholic. Tasting it is entirely optional.
Our team in Johannesburg and Maseru respond personally — usually within a few hours.