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Mountain Passes South Africa Mountain Passes South Africa
  • Home
  • Find A Pass
    • Master Map
    • Alphabetical list
    • Eastern Cape (214)
    • Free State (43)
    • Gauteng (15)
    • KwaZulu Natal (90)
    • Limpopo (33)
    • Mpumalanga (76)
    • North West (19)
    • Northern Cape (108)
    • Western Cape (316)
    • Lesotho (15)
    • Ben 10 Eco Challenge
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Extreme Mountain Passes

Use the hyperlinks below to check out South Africa's most extreme passes and where your favourite pass fits into the bigger picture.

These statistics are continually expanded as we add passes.

Biggest Altitude Gain Ranking

Category: Extreme Mountain Passes

South Africa's top 100 passes ranked in altitude gained (metres):

We have hyperlinked the Top 10 so you can click straight through to any of the passes.

Read more: Biggest Altitude Gain Ranking

Highest Mountain Passes Ranking

Category: Extreme Mountain Passes

The top 100 highest passes in South Africa: (in meters above sea level)

We have hyperlinked the Top 10 for your 'one click' convenience

Read more: Highest Mountain Passes Ranking

Longest Mountain Passes Ranking

Category: Extreme Mountain Passes

South Africa's 100 longest passes in kilometers - listed from longest to shortest. These statistics are regularly updated as new passes are listed.

Please note that although Prince Alfreds Pass comes 2nd on our table, it remains the longest pass as the Baviaans-Kouga is not a proper road in many sections (jeep track only) and it crosses private and state land requiring a permit, therefore does not qualify as a 'publicly accessible road' by definition. We have hyperlinked the top 10 for your convenience and an easy click through.

Read more: Longest Mountain Passes Ranking

Most Popular Mountain Pass Ranking

Category: Extreme Mountain Passes

On this page we list the 50 most popular passes according to the number of page views on the Mountain Passes South Africa website. (Note that passes loaded in 2012 would naturally have more views than those produced later)

These are a reflection of your preferences.

Read more: Most Popular Mountain Pass Ranking

Steepest Gradient Mountain Pass Ranking

Category: Extreme Mountain Passes

South Africa's top 100 steepest passes - expressed in height : distance ratio  (eg 1:8). Note that these are AVERAGE gradients. Sections of each pass could be much steeper. For example Prince Alfred's Pass in the Western Cape is 68 km long and has an average gradient of 1:96, but it has certain sections as steep as 1:8. As a consequence of simple mathematics, the shorter passes present steeper average gradients than the longer passes. Statistics should always be read in context.

Read more: Steepest Gradient Mountain Pass Ranking

The Bain Legacy

Category: Extreme Mountain Passes

This page deals with the phenomenal contribution to road building of the father son team of Andrew and Thomas Bain. We list all the passes that both these men built or assisted in building and provide direct hyperlinks to those passes. There are very few complete lists in existence of all the works including railway construction, bridges and other roads (other than passes). The most comprehensive research on this subject that we could find, was that of Dr. Graham Ross - a noted 'modern' padmaker himself, who has spent many years of his retirement researching the history of South African roads. Much of what you read here has been adapted from Dr Ross's meticulous research.

Read more: The Bain Legacy

Unusual Mountain Pass Data

Category: Extreme Mountain Passes

With so much data available to us, we sometimes come across weird names, and odd statistics which we list in this category. For example, there are four Ouberg Passes, as well as six Langkloof passes (the most popular pass names)and as many Rooiberg passes. There are those with short names and long names. This page is a compilation of interesting and unusual passes. We add to these categories as information becomes available.

Read more: Unusual Mountain Pass Data

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