Sights to see

Bloemfontein/Mangaung – Golden Gate Highlands National Park – Maria Moroka National Park – Gariep Dam – Qwaqwa National Park – Basotho Cultural Village

Places to go

Hiking Trails – Trip to Lesotho – Visit to the artists’ village Clarens – Hiking and riding through Golden Gate Highlands National Park – Tour to the Maria Moroka National Park

The province Free State in the heart of South Africa embraces part of Lesotho in the south-east. South Africa’s two most important rivers, Vaal and Orange, form the northern and southern border of the Province. The Free State is held tight in the hands of the successors of the Voortrekkers, conservative but with a strict charm. The Free State is rich, with gold and diamond mining and large-scale farming the key economic factors. The wide, flat, almost treeless planes are interspersed with single Table Mountains, and in the south-east, it is looking up to the outskirts of the Maluti Mountains and the Drakensberg Mountains.

One of the touristic highlights is the breathtaking mountain world of the Golden Gate Highlands National Park. Through the merger with the Qwaqwa Nature Reserve this park now has a size of 34,000 ha and it lies at the feet of the Maluti mountains. Discover the park on horseback, on foot, along the hiking trails. Get some insight into the cultural history of the Sotho in the Basotho Cultural Village. Gariep Dam is one of South Africa’s biggest artificial lakes. The Orange River is stowed over 24 km in width. All around the lake, there is the Gariep Dam Nature Reserve with the many different antelope types. Those who are interested in history can find many traces of the war between the Boors and the British (1889-1902) all over the Free State. Many artists have settled in Clarens and they show their works there. There is a lot on offer for outdoor activity lovers.

Bloemfontein/Mangaung, the „city of roses“, accommodates several parks, gardens, a rose garden and an orchid hothouse. The National Museum owns one of the biggest collections of fossils in the world. Fans of the „Lord of the Rings“ will like to know that Tolkien was born here in 1892, unfortunately his house is no longer there. The Free State is considered the corn barn of South Africa. Sweet corn, wheat and sunflowers are cultivated here. Livestock farming is also very important. The gold mines, discovered in 1946, are among the richest of the world. Welkom is the province’s second biggest city. Fuel is made from coal.