Typical scenery near the pass
Typical scenery near the pass - Photo: FireflyAfrica

As far as scenic beauty goes, this pass is below average for the Wild Coast. That does not in any way detract from the other interesting information connected with the pass and the area. The De Villiers Bridge at the lowest point on the pass withstood an impressive flood level of over 10m during the 1970 flood, where its safety railings were bent horizontal by the raging floodwaters. It is still like that today.

The pass has an inverted vertical profile with the lowest point being in the middle of the pass at the crossing of the Kobonqaba River. The pass is 8.2 km long and displays an altitude variance of 195m with the steepest gradients reaching 1:8 on the western side. The Kentani area was the scene of several historical skirmishes between the British and the Xhosa during the 9th Frontier War,

The town of Kentani is often in the news around initiation schools and dubious medical standards with a number of initiates losing their lives each year.

The full content of this article is restricted to subscribers.

Subscribe for only R550 a year and get full access to our website (936+ mountain passes), including the videos, the full text of all mountain passes articles, fact-file, interactive map, directions and route files.

Subscribe Now (1 year)

New: Lifelong subscription. You'll never have to worry about annual renewals or price increases. Enjoy a Lifetime Subscription to our website for just R5,000 once-off.

Subscribe Now (Lifetime subscription)

If you have already subscribed to our site, you can Log in to view the full article.

Log in


You will gain full access to the best parts of the website, which include:

  • the full content (non subscribers only see about 10% of the text) of 936+ mountain passes,
  • plus you get the video(s),
  • Fact File,
  • Interactive Map,
  • Directions
  • and the downloadable Route File.

You will also get our weekly newsletter packed with the latest interesting passes information delivered to your email each Thursday.

Paid subscribers qualify for 10% off the digital downloads from our online shop.

Still not convinced?

You can visit five ‘Open’ pass pages on Mountain Passes South Africa to evaluate what you’ll be getting: