At the top of Sani Pass you are standing on the roof of the Drakensberg, close to 2,900 metres up, on the border between South Africa and the Kingdom of Lesotho. A small border post, a few huts, a stone chalet that claims to be the highest pub in Africa, and a view down the escarpment that makes your stomach lurch, are about all there is. On a clear day the plateau of Lesotho rolls away to the north, brown and treeless, while behind you the cliffs drop away into a haze of valleys.
The climb is the point. Sani is a gravel track, about eight kilometres of steep hairpins with a rise of around a thousand metres, and on the South African side it is open only to four-wheel-drive vehicles and good adventure bikes with experienced riders. The surface is rocky, loose and rutted, with stream crossings, and it turns treacherous in rain, snow or ice, which can come in any season. Mist often fills the gorge, and the weather at the top is cold and windy even when the valley below is warm. Passports are needed at both border posts, and you should check opening hours and conditions in advance.
The pass follows an old trade route used by Basotho traders and pack ponies carrying goods between the highlands and the coast. Its name comes from the San people who once lived here and left paintings in the rock shelters below. Later, a track for mule trains was improved for vehicles in the twentieth century, but it has never been paved, and that is its charm. On the Lesotho side, shepherds in woollen Basotho blankets and conical straw hats herd sheep and goats across the high pastures.
The landscape is dramatic and fragile. The high plateau is a cold, grassy desert with alpine flowers in summer, and wetlands that feed several of southern Africa's major rivers. Bearded vultures, one of the world's rarest raptors, nest on the cliffs, and the wind carries the smell of dry grass and woodsmoke. In winter, snow often closes the pass, and the chalet becomes a very cosy place.
Dress in layers, carry water and food, and do not attempt the ascent on a loaded road bike. Respect the border and the weather, and let someone know when you expect to return.