Lobatse – The border valley town once chosen as capital
Lobatse lies in a valley in south-eastern Botswana, on the border with South Africa and about 70 kilometres south of Gaborone. The valley runs north towards the capital and has long been a natural route through the region.
When Botswana prepared for independence in the 1960s, Lobatse was the first choice for the new national capital. It was eventually considered too limited in space, and a new capital was built next to Gaberones instead. Lobatse nevertheless remained an important town and today forms its own administrative district with a town council and around 30,000 residents. Do you know stories from Lobatse's past? We warmly invite you to share them with our community!