Lesotho · Mokhotlong · Maloti Mountains
Tlaeeng Pass — the highest paved road in southern Africa
Profile of Tlaeeng Pass — 3,251m in Lesotho, the highest point of the A1 highway and one of the highest tarred through-roads south of the Sahara.
Tlaeeng Pass reaches 3,251 metres (10,667 feet) on Lesotho's A1 highway between Oxbow and Mokhotlong, and is widely cited as the highest paved road in southern Africa. Ethiopia's Sanetti Plateau road in the Bale Mountains runs higher still (above 4,000 m), but south of the Sahara the title of "highest tarred pass" is a straight contest between Tlaeeng and the neighbouring Mahlasela Pass (3,222 m), 15 kilometres to the west. The summit sign at Tlaeeng reads 3,251 m; survey figures put the road surface closer to 3,225 m.
History
The A1 was upgraded from a gravel track to a tarred highway in the 2000s as part of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project support infrastructure, which moved water from Lesotho's dams to South Africa's Vaal system. Before the paving, the road was passable only by 4x4 outside summer, and the Mokhotlong district was effectively cut off from Maseru for weeks at a time in winter.
Riding it
The climb from Oxbow gains 850 metres in 25 kilometres of smooth tar, through grassland that turns copper in autumn and briefly white in winter storms. The summit is broad, exposed, and windy; a concrete marker gives the altitude, and a small stall sells tea and maize cakes in summer. The descent to Mokhotlong on the east side is the longer of the two, dropping 700 metres over 40 kilometres into the Senqu (Orange) river headwaters.
Snow closes the pass a few days a year, usually June to August. The road surface stays good year-round thanks to the water-project maintenance contracts.
Along the way
- Afriski — small ski resort on the Mahlasela ridge 15 km west, the only ski field in Lesotho.
- Oxbow Lodge — highland fishing lodge at the west foot of the pass, 2,580 m.
- Summit marker — concrete plinth and altitude sign at the top, with views north to the Drakensberg escarpment.
- Mokhotlong — district capital at the east foot, 2,377 m, the main base for the Sani Pass area.
- Sani Pass — the famous 4x4 border crossing 120 km south, into KwaZulu-Natal.