Setsoto Local Municipality

Setsoto, “beauty” in Sesotho, is a local municipality in the Thabo Mofutsanyane district, Free State. The main towns are Clocolan, Ficksburg, Marquard and Senekal. Setsoto is the gateway to the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho and attracts tourists travelling to the country as well as those coming to see the annual Cherry Festival in Ficksburg, the “cherry capital of the world”. The seat for local government, Ficksburg is a centre for tourism, although its economy is mainly based on mixed agriculture with a focus on asparagus, cherries and deciduous fruit. Gumtree, a nearby settlement, houses the tallest sandstone structure on earth.