Where is it?

The Sani pass is in the Drakkensberg mountains, on the border between the Republic of South Africa and Lesotho. It is the most famous of three road crossings through the Drakkensbergs - the others being Bushman's Nek and Qacha's Nek. The nearest town of any note in Lesotho is Mokhotlong (50km) and the nearest city in the Republic of South Africa is Pietermarritzberg.

What is it?

The Sani pass is a very steep and twisting road pass that can only be driven in a four wheel drive vehicle.¹. The pass drops ² over 800m in just under 8km of length - which is an average slope of 1:10.

The pass is jointly adminstered by the governments of Lesotho and the Republic of South Africa. It has the Lesotho border post at its topmost point and the South African border post at its lower end.

The highest pub in Africa

The Sani Top Chalet is situated at the top of the pass at 2874m above sea level, just on the Lesotho side of the border. This location makes it the highest pub in Africa and the isolated nature of the location means that it is also one of the friendliest.

Points of interest

If you are driving the pass then there is only one place along the way you can stop - a braii* stop about one third of the way up. It has a tamper proof bin³ and bench installed by the four wheel drive club of South Africa but little else.