The Southern Drakensberg Route

1. Southern Drakensberg Route (View Map & details)

The Saunter guides you to some lovely places and things to do in the Southern Drakensberg. It is easy to reach this area from the Midlands … just an hour and a half’s drive.

Looking up at the impressive Berg, one thinks of a mountain range. It is actually an escarpment with hard basalt or ancient lava tops resisting erosion. Once on top, there is a surprisingly flat plateau. We also think of heat, cold and wind changing the shapes of the peaks. In fact, it has been found to often be, lightning strikes which blast and re-shape the high peaks.

Two little towns are a short distance apart: Underberg and Himeville. We have some great places to stay and good spots to eat out, a wonderful bucket shop trip and an invitation to visit a couple of special open studios and a beautiful photographic gallery. There is also an antique shop with a superb glass collection.

There are lovely self -guide hikes in the area and we also recommend a top rated Drakensberg guide should you want an expert with you.

Worldwide, Sani Pass is known as the Mother of all Passes. It leads up to a Lesotho gateway and you can journey up, go through customs and spend the night in a different country or return the same day. This pass climbs a total of 1332 m over 9km. We recommend who should get you up this iconic pass with its hair raising bends in their comfortable 4x4s. Alternately, you can tackle it yourself. Look at the video and see why this is on bucket shop lists. At the top, have a bite and obligatory drink in the highest pub in Africa!