“Sani Pass Tours to the Highest Pub in Africa” will take you up switchbacks to the Roof of Africa, to meet the Basotho people on the high plains of Lesotho.
As a dedicated passport stamper, I couldn’t possibly spend three weeks in South Africa without visiting the “Highest Pub in Africa” in its landlocked neighbor Lesotho (pronounced LEH-SOO-TOO). When I say landlocked, I mean completely surrounded by South Africa. There are only three countries in the world that are encircled by another country: Lesotho, Vatican City, and San Marino. So the only way to drive in is from South Africa, and the most fun way is up the Sani Pass Lesotho.
Some interesting Lesotho facts:
Why does Lesotho exist? What prevented it from being swallowed up by South Africa? It’s all due to the leadership of King Moshoeshoe, who expertly played off the British colonialists against the Dutch Boers, and the soundly defeated both parties in several mountain battles in the 1800s.
Lesotho’s lowest point of 1,400 meters (4,593 ft) is the “highest lowest-point” of any country in the world.
It the most ethnically homogenous nation in the world, as 99.7% of its population hail from the Basotho tribe.
Lesotho has a horrific 25% HIV rate, and the highest tuberculosis rate in the world, leading to extremely low life expectancy of 51 for men and 55 for women.
How do you get to the start of the Sani Pass Tours?
There are about ten border crossings to Lesotho in total, but only one provides a stunning journey up the side of the Drakensberg Mountains. This crossing just happens to be the closest border to Durban, the starting point of my journey. This would be the Sani Pass, a twisting dirt road built in the 1950s that rises from 5,000 feet to 9,436 feet over just 5.6 miles. I opted to make the day trip from Durban in Kwazulu Natal.
South Africa allows only 4×4 vehicles past their border post, so I could either rent a (very expensive) 4×4 in Durban and do it all myself, or I could go with a tour company 4×4 and let someone more knowledgeable sweat the driving. I chose to go with Sani Pass Tours.com, the most well-known and highly rated outfit.
To get there, I rented a cheap compact car in Durban, and made a 6am departure to the small town of Underberg. It was a lovely drive through farmland and rolling hills, all of it on excellent roads.
I parked in the sleepy little town of Underberg, and had a coffee while I waited to meet up with the tour guide. Soon our group of a half-dozen settled into our big Landcruiser to begin the journey.
The Drakensberg plateau loomed over us, with grassy fields on both sides.
Border Crossing #1
Soon we reached the South African border post, which quickly stamped us all out of the country.
Then we began the serious part of the road, all of it in a no-man’s land between the two nations. Hairpin turn after hairpin turn brought us higher and higher. At particularly scenic drop-offs, the driver would let us out for photos. You can see the remains of vehicles that didn’t negotiate a turn properly.
We weren’t the only people on the route. There were a handful of other 4×4 Sani Pass tour groups. There was one slow-moving, nervous looking driver, in a personally owned 4×4. Also, one barefoot man dressed in rags carrying firewood on his head. A couple of shepherds with serious looking sticks glared at us. A tiny two wheel drive compact car was abandoned, hopelessly mired in sand off the side of the road facing downhill. Two VERY impressive fully-laden cyclists were chugging upwards. If you want to attempt this on a bicycle, then read this account of the thrills of cycling one of the highest roads in Africa.
Be advised, the Lesotho side will let any vehicle attempt to drive down, but ascending cars and pack mules have the right of way.
At the summit, we took more photos and rejoiced at making it to the top and taking in the cool air.
Border Crossing #2
Lesotho passport control was easy and quick. We were inside Lesotho! We were thirsty for the Highest Pub in Africa, but we had another stop first.
Basotho Village
The next part of our Sani Pass tour was a touristy visit to a Basotho village. Of all the villages I have visited in Africa, this one was the most bleak. The village sits randomly in the middle of a high, windswept plateau. It is surrounded by nothing but rocks. No trees, no fruit or vegetable gardens, no obvious source of water even. Just stacked-rock round huts to shelter them from the constant cold wind. No safari wildlife around either, nothing like in Kruger National Park a few hundred miles away.
We picked up a guide who took us inside a big makhoro (hut) where we could learn about the daily life of the Basotho. They are sheep and goat herders, and must trek into town to trade their flock for everything else they might need. Each shepherd carries an individually carved stick that acts as their identification. If a shepherd goes out to lead his flock to graze for months and never returns, eventually someone will find his stick next to his bones and be able to tell who he was. It sounds like a tough existence.
Outside the hut, the women of the village had on their best Basotho blankets, set out handicrafts we could buy, and performed a doleful clapping song. Meanwhile, the men stood and stared at us unsmiling from the shadows, all dressed in earth-toned blankets of brown and grey. I felt ashamed for the indignity of what their village had to do to survive. The men wanted no part of us, and the women had a palpable disdain for the wooden performance they had to trot out to tourists each day. In every culture in Africa, I always find that it is the women that go the extra mile to fend for their families, and Lesotho is no exception.
I got back in the truck immediately while the others perused the trinkets on offer, though no one bought anything. Everyone tipped our local guide, and I wondered how much of that made it to the villagers.
Sani Pass Tours – The Highest Pub in Africa
Next we were off to the Sani Mountain Lodge, a charming British colonial style outpost on the edge of the pass. It’s known for having “The Highest Pub in Africa”. We enjoyed beers and sandwiches by the fireplace, as fog settled in.
The drive back down was cheerful after our mountain beers, and passed by quickly with no photo stops. I got dropped off back at my rental car around 4pm, and started my 3 hour drive back to Durban. As soon as I got going, the skies darkened, opened up and began pouring sheets of rain.
If you drive on the highways of South Africa, you’ll see the craziest hitchhiking scene in all the world. For complicated reasons relating back to apartheid public planning, the black townships in the suburbs of major cities have no public transportation even to this day. People trying to get to work in the cities have no other option than to walk to the highways and beg for rides. It is not unusual to see a hundred men standing in the breakdown lane, all waving a 10 or 20 rand note in the air, offering to pay for a ride.
Now as a lone foreigner driving along, I’m too scared to let a bunch of guys I don’t know in my car. After all, this is not Kansas. South Africa has loads of violent crime including car jacking at knife or gunpoint. So every day, I pass by all these people. But on this day, under the pouring rain, I passed a line of older ladies looking for rides. Some combination of having had a beer, being bored of driving alone for hours on end, feeling sorry for these ladies getting soaked, and judging that they were unlikely to stab me, led me to pull over.
They ran up to my car, and peered in my window. When they saw I was a white guy they just stood and stared at me.
“Yes?” one said quizzically.
“You want rides right?” I replied.
“Oh. Yes, yes.”
They all climbed in. They didn’t make too much conversation, and we rode in silence for 20 minutes or so. They indicated where to drop them, and then offered me some rand notes, which I refused. It’s the strange little experiences like this that I enjoy so much in my travels.
Sani Pass Tours: Things to Know Before You Go:
Cheap Beer Index: $2.87
You can enjoy a 330ml Maluti for 40 rand at the Sani Mountain Lodge.
When to Visit Sani Pass:
The best time for Sani Pass Tours is summertime; November thru February can get over 70 degrees. Winters are chilly, it gets below freezing nightly in June and July, and ice could close the road.
What languages are spoken in Lesotho?
Basotho is the common language, but English is a common second language
Do you need a Lesotho visa?
No. USA, UK, AUS and CAN passport holders all get 14 days to visit visa-free. 14 days should be enough to visit every inch of this small country.
How you get to the starting point of Sani Pass Tours:
Tourist favorite Cape Town is a long, long way away from Lesotho. Durban / Pietermaritzburg are the closest major cites, you can easily do day tours from either city. From Durban, head north on the N3 highway to R617 towards Sani Pass Road in Underberg. The drive takes less than 3 hours to Underberg/Himeville. If you have a 4×4, you can make it all the way to the top in 4 hours.
You can also continue on to the capitol of Lesotho. Maseru is six hours further northwest on good roads. There are lots of Lesotho tours to join from there.
There are plans to pave the road all the way to the top in 2019 by a Chinese company. If you wait a year or ten, you might be able to drive up in any old vehicle.
You can do it yourself if you have a 4×4. Remember the border closes at 6pm. You should get a letter of authorization from the rental company stating they approve for you to bring the vehicle in Lesotho. You may need to show this when leaving SA.
I went with Sani Pass Tours.com. Their 8 hour Lesotho day trips include a comfortable 4×4 drive up and down the pass, a Basotho cultural village visit, and a stop for lunch at the Highest Pub in Africa (on your own $$) for $63.
What is Lesotho’s Currency?
The Lesotho Loti is kept at par with the South African Rand (14.4ZAR to $1USD) and are available at ATMs. Use em all up before you leave, as they won’t be accepted in South Africa. If you have Rand with you, just use them, they will be accepted everywhere.
Stay Connected in Lesotho:
I highly recommend that anyone planning to do a large amount of international travelling switch their service provider to Google Fi. Google Fi allows you to use your same data plan, at the same domestic usage price ($10 per GB, and data is free after 6GB) in 164 countries! With Google Fi, you don’t have to sign up for a pricey “International Plan”. And you don’t get worthless 2G data speeds internationally like T-Mobile’s “One”, you get data at whatever the top speed the local cell towers can offer. Google Fi does have coverage in Lesotho. If you sign up through my referral HERE, you’ll get $20 off your first bill, and I’ll get $20 off my next bill. Everybody wins!
If you don’t already have Google Fi, there are two mobile network operators in Lesotho:
- Vodacom Lesotho has 75% of subscribers. If you have a South African Vodacom SIM, you can roam in Lesotho for free. You can buy a pay as you go SIM card for less than $2 from many stores. You don’t need to register it. 1GB of data, good for one week, is M50 ($3.40)
- Econet (Ezi-Cel, by ETL) has 25% of subscribers. You can buy a pay as you go SIM card called Buddie or Libertie for free with a mandatory M 50 ($3.40) recharge. You don’t need to register it. 1.3GB of data, good for one week, is M50 ($3.40)
Sani Pass Hotels:
In Lesotho:
The Sani Stone Lodge has dorm room bunk beds for just $13 a night. They also have private rooms starting at $41. They have a restaurant onsite, and can arrange cultural tours, horseback riding, hiking and fishing.
The Sani Mountain Lodge allows camping (brrr) for $12, has bunk beds for $19, and private room rondavels starting at $119 a night.
In South Africa:
Sani Lodge Backpackers has bunk beds for $16 a night, and private rooms starting at $45 a night. They have a swimming pool, and herb garden, plush common areas, and get rave reviews. They can arrange your 4×4 drive up the pass. This place looks a lot warmer and comfier than anywhere at the top of the pass.
Where to Eat:
The Sani Mountain Lodge has a monopoly on gastronomy and astronomy in the area, and serves tasty lunches and dinners.
Nightlife at Sani Pass:
The Highest Pub in Africa is the only bar for miles up in Lesotho. Remember, you are drinking at 9500 feet, so beers will hit you almost twice as hard. Go slow.
Down in South Africa, Sani Lodge Backpackers might have some folks tipping a few under the stars. Otherwise, you’d have to drive into Underberg, which isn’t the most hopping place anyway.
Get a Guidebook:
The Rough Guide to South Africa, Lesotho & Swaziland is the best guide available. Much more informative, up-to-date, and accurate than Lonely Planet. I used it every day without fail in my three week road trip across all three countries.
What to Pack:
Bring warm clothes. If it is 80 degrees in Durban at sea level, it’s going to be no more than 50 at the Highest Pub in Africa. Check out my Worldwide Travel Packing List for the best travel gear for your adventures. I’ve already read all the online reviews, and tested it all out, so you can just click and buy the best stuff.
Is Lesotho Safe?
It’s very unlikely you’ll have problems with anyone in the area around Sani Pass. However, the capital city of Maseru has a high crime rate. Muggings occur frequently, and can be violent. Be careful walking around there in daytime, and don’t walk anywhere at night.
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