Greylene the Suzuki Jimny Conquers Sani Pass

After I moved to South Africa in August 2010, my very first cross-border trip was to Mokhotlong, Lesotho. Although Mokhotlong is right next to Sani Pass, we didn’t have time to drive it on that trip.

Sani Pass is the most famous of the many border crossings between South Africa and Lesotho, because: 1) The pass is unpaved and (at least officially) accessible only via 4x4 vehicles; and 2) The road, which is full of crazy switchbacks and climbs 1332 meters over nine kilometers, is known to be extremely dangerous. I’d been wanting to drive the pass ever since that 2011 trip. Thanks to Greylene, my Suzuki Jimny, the Blogitects finally achieved that goal in April 2025.

Sani Pass Logistics

My initial plan had been to spend one night in Underberg, the closest sizeable town on the South African side of Sani Pass, drive up the pass into Lesotho, then travel across Lesotho to Semonkong, our next destination (more on Semonkong in a future post). But due to logistics and time constraints, it made more sense for us to spend the night in Underberg, drive up the pass and back down again, then return to Underberg for another night. The next day we drove back into Lesotho via the Qacha’s Nek border post and drove to Semonkong from there.

Before and after our Sani Pass outing, we stayed in an adorable A-frame cabin outside Underberg, where we had an incredible view of the southern Drakensberg mountains.

Driving the Pass

We woke up early and drove from Underberg to the Sani Pass border post, which was about an hour away. The drive between Underberg and the border post was stunning, and the road was freshly tarred and free of potholes.

The border post opens at 8 a.m. and we got there around 8:30. There was no line and we got through in about five minutes. (Don’t forget your passport. I also brought documents for the car but wasn’t asked for them.) We shifted into 4WD and took off up the pass – I drove first.

A few interesting notes on Sani Pass:

1. The Lesotho border post is at the top of the nine-kilometer pass, so the pass itself is a no-man’s-land between the two countries. The South African government (more specifically, the KwaZulu Natal provincial government) maintains the pass.
2. For more than a decade, I’ve been hearing rumors that Sani Pass will soon be paved. “Better drive it now,” people are always saying. “Soon it will be a tar road and all the magic will be gone.” But we met a couple of KZN road workers on the way up, and I asked them if they knew when the pass would be paved. They laughed and said they don’t see that happening anytime soon.
3. There are lots of YouTube videos calling Sani Pass “the most dangerous road on earth”, “the scariest drive I’ve ever done”, etc., and there are occasional fatal crashes on the pass. But we didn’t struggle too much in Greylene. This is either a testament to the mightiness of the Suzuki Jimny, luck that we had good weather and road conditions, or both.

We took our time driving up, stopping frequently to take pictures and sketch. Without rushing at all, we reached the top in about 90 minutes. We were lucky to be there on a great weather day: It was warm enough for short sleeves most of the way up. Some clouds rolled in at the top of the pass, but we were fine in hoodies.

At the Top of the Pass

When we reached the top, our first stop was the Sani Pass Border Post sign, where Thorsten was excited to add one of his @TheThinking_Hand stickers.

We then did the whole border post rigamarole, which was a pain, as we would soon turn around and do it again on the way down. (Note you have to pay to enter Lesotho at Sani Pass, I guess because it’s a tourist attraction – we paid R120 per person plus R90 for the car. We paid cash but I think there is a card machine.) But it was also kind of fun. I especially enjoyed the friendly dogs and musicians busking outside the border post building.

We also enjoyed shopping for souvenirs from the cluster of stalls at the top of the pass.

After the border post and the shopping, we did the thing that every Sani Pass tourist must do: Go for a drink/meal at Sani Mountain Escape, the “Highest Pub in Africa”.

Sani Pass is not the highest pass in Lesotho, let alone all of Africa; there are eight higher passes in Lesotho alone, and the altitude is half that of many mountains in central and east Africa. Is the pub at Sani Mountain Escape really the highest pub on the entire continent? Who knows…But I can find no evidence to the contrary. Either way, we had lunch there and it was delightful.

You have to pay a desposit (R100) to enter Sani Mountain Escape, presumably to discourage people from visiting the Highest Pub in Africa without buying anything, which I think is fair. You pay at the gate and receive a voucher, which you can use to pay for your food/drinks inside.

The pub at Sani Mountain Escape is super nice and cozy. (There is also decent-looking accommodation, which I’d be keen to try out next time.) We had an early lunch of hearty curry and a Maluti beer each. I enjoyed sitting by the fireplace while Thorsten caught up on work with Sani Mountain Escape’s wifi.

After lunch we did the border rigamarole in reverse and drove back down, which was much quicker than driving up. (Don’t forget to keep your car in the lowest gear possible and try not to ride the brakes all the way down.) By mid-afternoon we were back at our A-frame, ready for a nap.

We thoroughly enjoyed this experience. I won’t say “Do it now before they tar the pass” because who knows if that will ever happen? But you should do it now anyway.