Registering a SIM with ETL, and what we could not confirm for visitors
ETL's SIM registration leaflet (a PDF) says the Communications (Subscriber Identity Module) Regulations, published in the Government Gazette on 24 December 2021, require subscribers to register their SIM cards. It says registration is free of charge and that you can register at any Econet shop or Vodacom centre. There is no online self-registration, and a subscriber may register any number of SIM cards.
For documents, the leaflet says you only need a valid national ID card. It sets out proxy registration for minors, people with disabilities and people aged 70 and above, and it says unregistered active SIM cards would be deactivated after 24 June 2023. It does not say what a foreign visitor should bring or whether a passport is accepted, so ask in an ETL shop before you plan to buy a SIM on arrival.
ETL's data bundles in maloti
ETL's mobile data page lists bundles bought by dialling *100# or through EcoCash. At the time of checking, a daily bundle cost M2 for 20 MB, M5 for 80 MB or M8 for 200 MB, expiring at midnight, and daily premium bundles cost M20 for 1 GB or M60 for 3 GB, expiring in 24 hours. Weekly bundles started at M10 for 250 MB and ran up to M50 for 2 GB, and monthly bundles, valid for 30 days, ran from M80 for 2 GB up to M655 for 20 GB. Night bundles start at M2 for 50 MB and expire at 5am.
The page also lists a next-best-offer promotion, giving extra data for an extra payment when you buy a weekly bundle, and social media bundles, for example M30 weekly for 3.5 GB plus 3.5 GB labelled SASAI. The operator claims download speeds up to 150 Mbps and calls itself Lesotho's best data network, which is marketing rather than a measurement. A loti is pegged one-to-one to the South African rand, according to the Foreign Office.
What we could not confirm: eSIM sales and coverage
ETL's roaming page describes a Travel eSIM for customers who go abroad, with plans chosen at travel.etl.co.ls, but that product is for use outside Lesotho, so it does not tell us that a visitor can buy a local eSIM. The roaming page also says that while roaming, services are charged from the core airtime balance and bundles do not apply. We found no ETL or regulator page offering a visitor eSIM or a coverage map we could read.
The practical option for most visitors is therefore a foreign eSIM for data, installed before you arrive. We found no official source on coverage in the highlands, so save offline maps for any trek.
Visa-free entry and the cash declaration
The UK Foreign Office says British visitors can stay up to 90 days without a visa, with an extension by a temporary permit form taken to the Visa Application Centre in Maseru, and that overstaying can lead to detention and weekly fines. It says cash or travellers' cheques worth 25,000 loti or more must be declared, or the money could be seized when you leave, and that both the loti and the rand are accepted throughout the country. It advises carrying a copy of your passport photo page and entry stamp, since officials may ask to see them.
Rules differ by nationality, so check the Lesotho high commission or embassy for your own passport.
Roads, minibuses and street crime
The UK Foreign Office says driving standards and road conditions are poor, that animals on the roads are a hazard at night, and that minibus taxis may be poorly maintained and uninsured, advising transport arranged by your accommodation instead. It says muggers can target foreign nationals, that carjackers may try to stop vehicles, that you should drive in daylight and be wary of roadblocks, and that thefts rise before Christmas and Easter.
Together, that argues for downloading maps and booking details before you leave a town, and for keeping your phone out of sight in streets. It also notes occasional political demonstrations in Maseru, usually peaceful, and advises moving away from gatherings.
Emergency number
The UK Foreign Office lists 112 for ambulance, fire and police in Lesotho. Our Lesotho plan page covers data before you arrive.
Networks our Lesotho plans use
These are the operators named on our plans for Lesotho, taken from the plan data, so the list follows the catalogue.
- Vodacom4G