The Maloti–Drakensberg Park is a transnational World Heritage property, not one fenced reserve with a single entrance. It joins uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park in South Africa and Sehlabathebe National Park in Lesotho across the high escarpment that divides the two countries. UNESCO describes a combined area of 249,313 hectares: 242,813 hectares on the South African side and 6,500 hectares in Lesotho. Each component has its own administration, roads and visitor arrangements.
The landscape shifts between steep basalt buttresses, golden sandstone cliffs, caves, arches, pillars and rock pools. These are not just scenic forms: UNESCO recognizes a range of habitats that supports endemic plants and threatened wildlife, including the Cape and bearded vultures. The Lesotho section is also the only known home of the critically endangered Maloti minnow. The park’s significance rests on the connection between geology, water, wildlife and human history rather than on one famous viewpoint.