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3 Lesotho passes you have to drive, including Sani Pass

16/5/2012

23 Comments

 
On top of a pass, Lesotho


By Roxanne Reid
​
Think Lesotho and what do you see? Blankets, ponies and Basotho hats? So do most people. But for me, it’s also about steep snaking Lesotho passes that take your breath away. You can’t avoid them – and you wouldn’t want to. Here are 3 Lesotho passes you have to drive, including Sani Pass.

Given how mountainous Lesotho is, it's no surprise that it's jam-packed with mountain passes. Some of them have intriguing names too, like the Pass of Jackals, Blue Mountain Pass and even God Help Me Pass between Maseru and Mohale Dam, which tops out at a sedate altitude (for a country whose lowest point is 1400 metres) of 2281 metres. But for me, the three most exciting passes are Sani in the east, Mafika Lisiu on the way to Katse, and Moteng between Butha Buthe and Oxbow.
Sani Pass, Lesotho
Sani Pass
1. Sani Pass
Sani Pass is fabulous and rightly famous. You need to drive it at least once in your life, but if it’s been raining heavily or snowing, check with the locals before setting out. You wouldn’t want to get snowed in – yes, it happens.

Remember it’s a gravel road (at least for now), so be prepared for rough conditions in parts. When we drove it two years ago, we had to reduce speed to just 20km/h in some places, bouncing over rocks and dongas. The switchbacks intensified near the top and the road became slippery when it started to rain. 

But we made it and the contrast was extreme. It had been 30 degrees at Underberg near the bottom of the pass; when we climbed out at the tiny Lesotho border post at the top an hour or two later, the temperature had plummeted to 12 degrees and an icy wind was blowing. In mid December.

If you’re still hyped up on adrenalin after driving the pass, and you simply must stand on the highest point in southern Africa, hike – a bit of a slog, really – from Sani Top up Thabana Ntlenyana (3482 metres). 

By the way, if you don’t have a 4x4, you can still experience the Sani Pass with one of several companies that work out of Underberg in KwaZulu-Natal, like Sani Pass Private Tours.

But Sani is just one of many dramatic passes you can drive in Lesotho. Two of my other favourites are Mafika Lisiu and Moteng, even though both of them are tarred.
Mafika Lisiu Pass, Lesotho passes
Both Mafika Lisiu and Moteng passes give wonderful views of the Lesotho mountains
2. Mafika Lisiu Pass
If you go to Katse Dam, you’ll get to experience the magnificent Mafika Lisiu Pass between Pitseng and Lejone for yourself. It was built as part of Phase 1 of the construction of Katse Dam and was special enough to receive an engineering prize.

My memory of it is of a series of steep climbs and descents, hairpin bends and waterfalls. During the rainy season waterfalls glisten like diamonds over rocks and hills just about anywhere you look. Small wonder water is referred to in Lesotho as ‘white gold’, especially given the massive Katse Highlands Water Project and its impact on Lesotho’s economy through the sale of water to South Africa via a network of tunnels through the mountains.

From Pitseng the road climbs in less than 30 kilometres to a breathtaking 3090 metres at the top of the pass. Every bend will have you wanting to stop the car to take in the view, to immortalise it in photographs. If you don’t have a head for heights, though, you may prefer to close your eyes and grit your teeth.

Unless you’re adventurous and have a strongly developed sense of humour, some of the road signs along this pass aren’t likely to thrill you either. Signs warn of Sharp descent, Snow/ice and Falling rocks. Take notice. They’re not kidding.

At the top of the pass is the Bokong Nature Reserve, the highest nature reserve in Africa accessible by car. Not far from the turnoff we saw an enormous rock fall, a scary reminder of what can happen. The slopes are steep and when it rains, rocks and stones get dislodged onto the road, carving craters in the edge of the tar (hopefully not your car) as they land.

Signs will also warn you of Steep curves for 5km – after you’ve already been twisting helter skelter for kilometre upon kilometre. Just as you go into a Sharp descent another sign will helpfully tell you that Brake failure has killed. Here where there’s not a repair shop or AA check centre in sight. Bit late for that warning, then.
Alpine flowers, Lesotho
Flowers still thrive at the high altitude
3. Moteng Pass
Another pass worth driving is the Moteng Pass (2820 metres), which coils like a corkscrew just before you reach Oxbow on the A1 road from Butha Buthe. If you remember that the Oxbow and Afriski area is usually covered in enough winter snow to make it one of Lesotho’s prime areas for skiing, you’ll get a hint of what to expect. In summer when we visited, we drove up through the clouds and then looked down on them from above, that’s how steep these hills are.

Tlaeeng Pass
South of Oxbow and Afriski (where you’ll find what claims to be the highest restaurant in Africa) is the Tlaeeng Pass. At 3251 metres it’s the highest motorable pass in Africa, so you might think it’s going to be even more exciting than Moteng.

Not so.

It turns out to be a bit of a letdown, mainly because you start so high that it hardly feels like a big deal at all. I certainly wouldn't class it as a 'must-drive' pass - which is why I haven't included it in the title of this blog, which refers to 3 passes.
Road signs on a pass, Lesotho
Road signs to scare the pants off you
The road surface on this stretch of road is also particularly bad, so you have to keep your wits about you; none of that gawping-at-the-view nonsense when you have to drive like a rally driver just to avoid all the potholes.
 
Still, it’s nice to say you’ve driven the highest pass in Africa. And we did enjoy the waterfalls, the Motetsi River gambolling through the hills, and red-hot pokers and yellow, white and purple Afro-Alpine flowers at the top of the windswept pass.

If you have a favourite – or least favourite! – pass in Lesotho, I’d love to know about it and what happened to make you feel that way. 

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More about Lesotho

Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without permission from roxannereid.co.za
3 passes in Lesotho you have to drive, including Sani Pass, Mafika Lisiu Pass and Moteng Pass. And one that's a bit of a letdown, Tlaeeng Pass #Africa #roadtrip #travel #Lesotho #passes #SaniPass
3 passes in Lesotho you have to drive, including Sani Pass, Mafika Lisiu Pass and Moteng Pass. And one that's a bit of a letdown, Tlaeeng Pass #Africa #roadtrip #travel #Lesotho #passes #SaniPass
23 Comments
Karabo
17/5/2012 01:15:08 am

You could not have put it better. Lesotho offers a lot of excitement for those who love nature and adventure. You can also do trout fishing. There is ski resort where you can fully enjoy snow without having to spend thousands in Europe. A truly phenomenal gift of nature for Lesotho. Spread the word.

Reply
Roxanne
17/5/2012 01:41:48 am

Indeed, Karabo. And it's an awesome adventure destination too - abseiling, horse riding, hiking, mountain climbing, and so it goes on. It's definitely one of my favourite Southern African destinations.

Reply
Pieter Grobler
20/10/2015 10:05:34 pm

Roxanne, I cannot agree more. We did all four of these passes between 17 October and 19 October 2015 - what an experience!

Reply
Roxanne
23/10/2015 06:49:29 am

Fabulous, Pieter. Was the landscape still quite brown? In midsummer it turns beautifully green.

Reply
Roxanne
28/7/2016 11:54:42 am

Thanks for the update about the road to Semonkong, Phil. I'm quite sad to hear it because it was a fabulous drive, but I do understand that it will make life much faster and easier for local drivers.

Reply
EDWIN
17/11/2016 02:44:24 pm

i am Mosotho and I have driven on all those roads and have got to travel through Moteng every time I go home (Mokhotlong). But I am yet to be at Qacha's Nek

Reply
Roxanne
18/11/2016 07:30:16 am

Ah, Edwin, but yours is a beautiful country. Lucky you to drive those scenic passes. I haven't been to Qacha's Nek either - maybe next time...

Reply
Philip Lindeque
10/10/2023 10:07:03 pm

I have crossed lesotho in all the years I have been there 40 years every year easter i did a trip into Lesotho truly the kingdom in the sky quachas is such a nice clean and quiet town I think you will enjoy the time there you can go to the new centra hotel good accomodation

Eric Hayman
6/3/2020 03:11:57 pm

Lumela Edwin.

I drove that road in the 1970s when working on the survey for the Katse Dam, and prospecting for diamonds. On one occasion, the bridge across the Khubelu river was washed away!

Sala hantle - Eric

Reply
Daniel link
25/10/2020 05:29:24 pm

Visit Lesotho again soon then 😂

Roxanne
14/10/2023 12:21:24 pm

I agree with Philip that it's a wonderful country deserving to be explored, although nowadays with all the tarred roads it's less of an adventurer's destination.

Reply
Trygve Roberts link
26/5/2019 07:33:35 am

Thank you for your well written articles. I couldn't help but notice that you refer to sani Pass being in Lesotho. This is incorrect. Although the SA border control point is approximately halfway up the pass, the actual border between SA and Lesotho is about 200m beyond the summit of the Sani Pass.

Reply
Roxanne Reid link
26/5/2019 07:38:24 am

Thanks for your comment. Strictly speaking, you're right but if you go to Lesotho from Underberg you'll have to drive it. That was my thinking in including it here.

Reply
Eric Hayman
6/3/2020 03:08:44 pm

I was living and working in Lesotho from 1969 to 1974 - when all these roads were dirt tracks!! I used the Moteng Pass regularly, driving Land-Rovers - even towing a four berth caravan into the Malutis!! I worked on the survey for the Katse Dam, and prospected for diamonds as well. The Letele Pass - between Hlotse (Leribe) and Pelaneng was the worst, mostly in Low Range and at 3 or 4 mph. Memories!

Reply
Roxanne
7/3/2020 03:13:42 pm

So many happy memories. I'm sure the locals prefer the new faster roads, but I feel nostalgia for the old roads.

Reply
Eric Hayman
11/3/2020 11:46:12 am

Three out of three, Roxanne. So often the memories play down the bad events - broken Land Rover half-shafts, etc. And of course the Basotho benefit from the tar roads, just as I benefited from the 4WD tracks I used with Land Rovers, rather than horse or mule (I had plenty of horseback work on the Lesotho Highlands Water Project!).
Like you, I have the nostalgia for the old roads (a bit like the Monty Python Yorkshiremen sketch - tar road over Moteng? Luxury! I remember setting out from Butha Buthe, getting stuck in the lowlands in deep mud with a Land Rover and work caravan, turning back, trying the next day, struggling round the hairpin bends on the pass, having to reverse several times to complete a bend, the engine boiling, fetching water from a stream......the folk today, they'll never believe you!)

The Pelaneng airstrip was partly one of my achievements.

If you want a bit of Lesotho-based fiction, I recommend my action tale Black Dragon, Yellow Dragon – available on Amazon Kindle. Set in 1970s Lesotho – mostly in the mountains, with plenty of dirt road driving - it is a mixture of politics, love, lust and diamonds. And a lot of my imagination!

Tertius Jordaan link
28/9/2021 01:45:43 pm

Hi Roxanne

Thanks for a great article. I'm including a 3 night stay for one of my clients that is doing a 94 day trip all over Southern Africa. Henry is a stone fanatic and would like to go and "search for agates in streams" on one of the days. Do you maybe know if there is a specific area in Lesotho to find interesting rocks. Thanks again for the help. Tertius

Reply
Roxanne Reid link
28/9/2021 02:26:17 pm

Really not something I know about, Tertius. You could try asking Lesotho Tourism at https://www.visitlesotho.travel or Google it. I came across mention of agates in the Buthe-Buthe area, for instance, on a simple Google search.

Reply
Eric Hayman
29/9/2021 03:56:56 pm

Hullo Tertius,

Try contacting the Lesotho Ministry of Mining's Public Relations Officer, Mr Rorisang Mahlo, P.O. Box 750, Maseru 100, +266 2231 1447 / 6333 9349 – email [email protected] – or visit his office when there.

Depending on how keen Henry is, take along a set of small sieves and a shovel and try sampling stream sediments, especially below any waterfalls. He may even find a diamond or two!

Good luck - Eric.

Reply
Tertius Jordaan
10/3/2022 08:02:15 pm

Thanks Roxanne & Eric

Appreciate your comments! Think that is excatly what we will do. Stop here and there and maybe find a diamond too.:)

Eric Hayman
20/3/2022 03:29:04 pm

A pleasure, Tertius.

If you want something really hard to tackle, try the Letele Pass. Of no great height, in the 1970s it was a very long low range climb - and descent. I imagine the original improved' animal track is still there.

Reply
Eric Hayman
14/10/2023 01:44:28 pm

What has happened to the Letele Pass - on the rocky road from Leribe/Hlotse to Pelaneng? I imagine the lower parts of the road are used by farmers, etc - but what about the pass itself?

Reply
Roxanne
15/10/2023 10:44:27 am

I'd be interested to know the answer too, Eric.

Reply

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    I'm an independent travel writer and book editor with a passion for Africa - anything from African travel, people, safari and wildlife to adventure, heritage, road-tripping and slow travel.
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