Thabana Ntlenyana, Mountain summit in Maloti range, Lesotho.

Thabana Ntlenyana is a broad, rounded summit on the Mohlesi ridge in Lesotho's Maloti Mountains, reaching 3,482 metres, the highest point in southern Africa. Its upper face is covered in dry, reddish-brown grass and soil, descending from a small, slightly flattened crest at the top. The mountain is built of amygdaloidal flood basalt laid down in the Upper Triassic and Lower Jurassic.

The first recorded ascent by Western-tradition mountaineers took place in March 1951, led by Desmond Watkins with surveyors Barry Anderson and Roy Goodwin and mountaineer C. W. Jorgensen, plus at least three assistants Jorgensen called "cooks, bottlewashers and scarecrows." The peak is usually climbed from Sani Top Chalet or Vergelegen Nature Reserve, often as part of a Grand Traverse of the Maloti.

In Sesotho the name breaks down as thaba (mountain), the diminutive -na, ntle (beautiful) and yana (little one), giving "beautiful little mountain"; a German source also records the variant Thabantshonyana, "black little mountain". The peak stands on the Mohlesi ridge in Mokhotlong District, and trekkers often reach it on a Grand Traverse of the Maloti and Drakensberg peaks.

The best time to climb is summer with milder weather, while winter brings snow and challenging conditions. Visitors should prepare for changing weather and bring warm gear and plenty of water.

Thabana Ntlenyana is built of amygdaloidal flood basalt laid down in the Upper Triassic and Lower Jurassic. The peak ranks 11th in the world by topographic isolation, and the headwaters of the Orange River rise nearby, beginning a course of about 1,300 kilometres west to the Atlantic.