Sani Pass, Mountain pass between KwaZulu-Natal and Lesotho, South Africa

Sani Pass is a mountain pass that connects KwaZulu-Natal to Lesotho via a gravel road winding through high alpine terrain. The route climbs steeply through steep Drakensberg valleys and reaches elevations typical of the southern African highlands.

The route was used by San people and later Bantu communities before 1913, when it was laid out as a pack-donkey trail for trade between South Africa and Mokhotlong. On 26 October 1948 Godfrey Edmonds drove a military jeep to the summit in five and a half hours, helped by Basotho with mules, ropes and pulleys. In 1952 Alwyn Bisschoff took a Land Rover up, and in 1955 David Alexander's Mokhotlong Mountain Transport Company rebuilt the trail as a road for Land Rovers.

The pass lies on a route the San people used first, followed by Bantu groups crossing the Drakensberg range. From 1913 it was laid out as a pack-donkey trail for trade with Mokhotlong; herders drove lame animals over the edge and bearded vultures circling above marked the path from afar. Since 1994 it has served mainly walkers, cyclists and 4x4 tourists, plus workers travelling between Lesotho and South Africa.

South Africa allows only 4x4 vehicles on the gravel section between its border post at the foot of the climb and the summit; the Lesotho post at the top lets all vehicles attempt the descent. Both border posts open at 6:00 and close at 18:00, and the pass is often shut in winter weather. The border itself is at the summit, so the whole pass lies in South Africa.

The first vehicle to reach the summit was a war-surplus Willys Jeep, driven on 26 October 1948 by Godfrey Edmonds, a former RAF bomber pilot, who took five and a half hours with Basotho helpers using mules, ropes and pulleys. In 1952 Alwyn Bisschoff repeated the climb in a Land Rover.