Phuthaditjhaba (formerly Witsieshoek or Qwaqwa) is a town in the Free State province of South Africa. Phuthaditjhaba is a seSotho name that means meeting place of the tribes. It is located on the banks of the Elands River.
It also located in a section of Drakensberg mountains (Maloti in the Sesotho language).
it is bordered by the province of KwaZulu-Natal to the south east and the independent country of Lesotho to the south west. Phuthaditjhaba was capital of the bantustan or homeland of QwaQwa. When apartheid ended, Phuthaditjhaba became part of the Free State province.