Sani Pass and Lesotho MTB Tour

[EigerSA]

Hi all.

 

I'm thinking of a MTB tour later in this year, in spring. I'm thinking of starting and ending in Uderberg and touring Lesotho. It would be a partly supported tour over about a week.

 

Has anyone done this before that would be happy to part with some info?

 

Thanks

Shelldon

[geomark]

Work has started on tarring the Sani Pass, not sure where they are up to now but last year they had completely ripped up the section below the RSA border post with multiple bridges under construction and very poor quality detours.  Once they start above the border post it will take a lot of the fun out of riding the pass itself.

 

Afraid I haven't toured Lesotho for many years so no up to date suggestions there.

[Disher]

A few of us rode adventure bikes through Lesotho last year (not MTB sorry) and it was great. I can imagine you wouldnt have many problems, all the hotels and stuff we stayed in were pretty jacked.

Sani is Sani - if your going to pedal up I hope you are strong !! it would be a workout

The hotel is great - afriski is great Lesotho is awesome - plan it properly and you should have no issues.... oh and part of that planning is the weather - several seasons in one day in those mountains !!1

[L46]

Did a motorbike trip through the area early this year so here is a few pointers to take into consideration;

 

1.  How fit are you and how much do you like climbing?  Flat pieces are far and few in between.  (I've once climbed Mafika Lisiu pass on a mountainbike and climbed about 2500m in 40km.  You can easily get 10% plus gradients that go on for a while, it's not like riding rolling hills in SA)

 

2.  Fit a proper climbing gear ratio and check your brakes before the trip.

 

3. Sani pass construction only underway at the bottom half of the pass, will not be an issue for a cyclist.  Between border post and border post construction has not started.  As soon as you hit Lesotho its a tarred highway (with very little traffic) all the way to the A1 road (And if I understand you can go all the way to Afriski on tar from there.  We went to Tsaba Tseka from there on gravel roads which takes an entire day by car.

 

4.  Backpackers at the top of Sani Pass has everything you need, there is also one at the bottom.  There names are similar so make sure you book the correct one you choose.

 

5. Katse Lodge is similar to a 3 star BnB, everything you need there with a restaurant etc.  Book through Hotels.com for about R800 per room, incl breakfast.

 

6. Motebong Lodge is also nice, I've stayed there before.  Eat trout there.

 

7. Afriski is also a nice place to stop as they've adopted the mountainbiking scene and have dedicated routes there.

 

You obviously won't reach all of these destinations in a week by peddling only but if you have something in mind I can try and assist.

 

Oh, as for the locals, when I was alone on my mountainbike a few years back I had no issues, just the odd one asking for sweets.  With the motorbikes we had a few more people run at us, probably just to get sweets but we took off before they reached us each time.  The back-up car might create an impression of "money" so just be aware and be safe, maybe just a pepper spray will help for extra comfort, but most people we encountered were friendly.  As for the dogs we had one or two bark at us but most probably due to the noise.

 

Lastly, you cannot camp just anywhere as you need to ask/get permission for the "chief" in the respective area, so you need to plan in terms of accommodation beforehand

 

Good luck, it's a proper adventure.

[Disher]

 

This character stopped while we were taking a short break on the side of the road. What a pleasant guy. All he wanted was a smoke and a light and he was on his way.

 

Lesotho is very different and definitely a place worth exploring

 

To agree with the last poster, the road between afriski and about 40 kms from sani is magnificent. wide, solid shoulders, very very few potholes and little traffic. Its a motorcyclists dream. Cyclist will enjoy it too but that valley has some damn big and long hills.

 

enjoy

[RogM]

Hi all.

 

I'm thinking of a MTB tour later in this year, in spring. I'm thinking of starting and ending in Uderberg and touring Lesotho. It would be a partly supported tour over about a week.

 

Has anyone done this before that would be happy to part with some info?

 

Thanks

Shelldon

 

Hi Shelldon

 

If you are even contemplating this, do it..

 

2 friends and I did Caledonspoort to Sani Backpackers Lodge last year in September, it was an amazing experience.

 

Here's the link to our trip:

https://www.bikepacking.africa/highlandsroute

 

Give me a shout if you need more info, I can probably point you in the right direction.

 

Cheers

Rog

[Bman]

Anyone head up Sani Pass recently?

Thinking of taking the 4x4 for a trip up it this weekend to take the folks up.

Heard it's not in the best condition though?

[Chadvdw67]

Anyone head up Sani Pass recently?

Thinking of taking the 4x4 for a trip up it this weekend to take the folks up.

Heard it's not in the best condition though?

A friend of mine did it last month, said its in the worst condition he has ever seen it.

 

My wife and I are planning a trip in November, so I went to speak to him about it today actually

[Fat Boab]

 

Maybe just me but your link doesn't work. Would love to read about your trip...

 

Hi Shelldon

 

If you are even contemplating this, do it..

 

2 friends and I did Caledonspoort to Sani Backpackers Lodge last year in September, it was an amazing experience.

 

Here's the link to our trip:

https://www.bikepacking.africa/highlandsroute

 

Give me a shout if you need more info, I can probably point you in the right direction.

 

Cheers

Rog

[Pieter-za]

Maybe just me but your link doesn't work. Would love to read about your trip...

 

https://www.bikepacking.africa/ is working but /highlandsroute is throwing '404 Page not found'

 

But I did get this one  https://www.bikepacking.africa/bikepackingforum/ride-reports/bikepacking-lesotho-highlands-route  linking to https://spark.adobe.com/page/72tZVIlLvZn8x/?w=1_6246