Sani Pass (71 km)
Underberg to Sani Top
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Why this ride
71 km one way from Himeville - plan on about 1 h 13 of riding. It goes by way of Sani Pass lower control and Sani Pass. The highest point is about 2,900 m. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
Roadbook
- Underberg
start
Underberg is a small farming town in the foothills of the Southern Drakensberg, in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, and it is the last place of any size before the mountains. The little main street has a handful of shops, a pub, a few guesthouses and the scent of woodsmoke in the cool air, and above it all the Drakensberg escarpment rises in a wall of dark basalt. The district grows potatoes, apples and cattle, and the town has long served as a base for walkers and trout fishers.
It is best known as the starting point for the Sani Pass. The road, which climbs from Himeville and Underberg over the escarpment into Lesotho, is a gravel track that rises almost a thousand meters in about eight kilometers, with steep, loose hairpins and sheer drops. At the top lies the border post and the highest pub in Africa, at about 2,874 meters, which advertises itself with some pride. The pass was a smugglers' route and a mule track before it became a road in the 1950s, and it remains a challenging ride, especially in wet weather or after snowfall, when it can be closed. A capable adventure motorcycle and a confident rider can manage it in dry conditions, but the surface of rocks and ruts demands full attention.
Weather in the mountains changes quickly. Mist can form within minutes, snow can fall in winter and even on summer afternoons thunderstorms build over the escarpment. Temperatures at the top can be near freezing in the morning. The border post operates limited hours, and a passport is needed, so check the times before you go. Many riders leave early and return before dark.
The valley below the pass is good riding in its own right. Back roads around Underberg and Himeville wind through farmland and wetlands, and the views of the mountains are impressive, particularly in the light of late afternoon. Birdwatchers come for the rare wattled crane and bearded vulture, and trout streams run clear.
Underberg has a fuel station and basic supplies, and the nearby village of Himeville has a small museum and a pub. Fill up here before the climb, because there is nothing at the top beyond the lodge, and make sure your bike and tyres are ready for the rocks.
- Sani Pass lower control
scenic
The lower control post is where Sani Pass begins to feel real. You have ridden up from the green foothills of the KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg, past farms, pine plantations, and the villages of Himeville and Underberg, and at the end of a quiet road you arrive at a small border post of the South African side, with a barrier, an office, and a view of the great basalt wall that closes off the valley. Beyond it, the road turns to gravel and heads straight at the escarpment.
This is the point of no return, in a sense. You must show your passport and vehicle papers, and the staff will ask where you are going and often check whether your vehicle is suitable. The post is only open during daytime hours and closes in the afternoon, so check the times before you go, and remember that the Lesotho border post at the top has its own rules and visa requirements. Carry your documents in a dry place, and have copies, because mountain weather can be harsh and the process can take time.
The pass itself is gravel and steep, climbing around a thousand metres in only a few kilometres, with tight hairpins, rocky ramps, and stream crossings. It is considered a 4x4 route, and many riders attempt it on adventure bikes, though a heavily laden machine or an inexperienced rider can find it exhausting. The surface changes with the weather, and rain, snow, or ice can make it dangerous. Ride it early, well within your skill, and consider the descent as carefully as the climb.
Fuel and supplies should be arranged in Underberg or Himeville, the last sizeable places on the South African side, where there are stations, shops, and places to eat. There is nothing at the control post, apart from a few basic facilities. Bring warm layers, because it can be cold at the top even in summer, and the weather can change in minutes. Winter snow often closes the pass, and spring and autumn offer the best balance of clear weather and safe conditions. The view up to the wall of the escarpment from here is worth a pause.
- Sani Pass
scenic · 2876 m
Sani Pass tops out at 2,876 metres, and the Lesotho side greets you with a wide, windswept plateau and a pub that styles itself as the highest in Africa. The ride up is one of the most famous in southern Africa, a rough gravel track that climbs the Drakensberg escarpment in a series of hairpins, but the arrival is almost an anticlimax: you crest the last rise and the land opens into rolling, treeless highlands, grazed by sheep, goats, and herders in blankets.
Lesotho is a country entirely above one thousand metres, and this part of it is the roof. The Maloti Mountains stretch away in every direction, and Thabana Ntlenyana, the highest peak in southern Africa at around 3,480 metres, lies not far away. The Basotho people who live here wear traditional woollen blankets and conical straw hats, ride ponies, and tend livestock in a landscape that has changed little over generations. The air is thin, the light is very clear, and the cold bites, even in summer.
Riding on the plateau is a different challenge to the pass. The road continues as gravel and dirt toward Mokhotlong, the nearest town, about thirty-nine kilometres away, and conditions vary from smooth to rough. Streams cross the track, and snow or ice can appear at any time of year. Distances are deceptive, and daylight hours matter. Wind can be fierce, and there are few places to shelter. Livestock and people walk on the road, so keep your speed under control and be courteous.
Fuel is the main logistical question. Mokhotlong is the nearest place likely to have it, and supplies can be unreliable, so fill up in Underberg or Himeville before the climb and carry a reserve. Plan your border formalities carefully, since the Lesotho post has its own hours and procedures. The pub and a small lodge at the top offer food, drink, and a bed, and it is an excellent place to warm up with a hot meal. Visibility can drop quickly in cloud, so do not go on without a decent weather window.
- Sani Top
finish · 2876 m
Sani Top is the lip of the Drakensberg escarpment, where the gravel road from KwaZulu-Natal finally scrambles over the wall of the mountains into Lesotho at close to twenty-nine hundred metres. It is the highest road pass in southern Africa, and it is not a casual outing. The track climbs about a thousand metres in eight kilometres or so, in steep hairpins up the face of the escarpment, over loose rock, with sheer drops, and the sensible rider treats it as a serious off-road challenge. Rain or snow can close it, and a gentle morning can turn into a white-out by lunch.
At the top, you find a border post, a few huts, and a lodge that claims the highest pub in Africa. The border is real: you need your passport, vehicle papers and patience, and the South African side closes in the late afternoon, so plan your timing. A hot drink in the pub, with a view over the high plateau of the Maloti Mountains, is a pleasure that is hard to beat after the climb. The air is thin, the wind can be bitter, and in winter snow lies on the ground.
The Sotho people have lived in these mountains for centuries, wearing woollen blankets and conical straw hats, and herding sheep, goats and ponies. Shepherds on horseback are a common sight on the plateau. The rolling highlands are treeless and windswept, grassland and bog, with the headwaters of rivers that feed much of southern Africa. The Drakensberg is a spectacular wall of basalt, and in summer, thunderstorms boil over the peaks in the afternoon, so start early. Birdwatchers look for the bearded vulture and the Cape vulture, and the rare bald ibis.
Fuel is the first question. Fill up at Underberg on the South African side, carry spare if your bike's range is limited, and ask about fuel at Mokhotlong, about forty kilometres into Lesotho, which is the nearest sizeable town on the far side. Cash in local currency or South African rand is useful.
The reward is the silence of the plateau, and the sense of having reached somewhere that most people never see.