Mafika Lisiu Pass is without question one of the most dramatic and beautiful tarred passes in Lesotho. It was built ahead of the construction of the Katse Dam to provide an all-weather road suitable for the large trucks carrying fly-ash and cement from Ficksburg to the Katse construction site. It won an international engineering award for its design and engineering excellence.
The statistics of this pass are impressive. Firstly its a very long pass at 26.2 km with a summit height of 3091m and an altitude variance of 1104m. It snows regularly on the pass, making it dangerous for non 4WD vehicles. Black ice occurs on the pass too, rendering a highly dangerous situation; even for 4WD vehicles.
The scenery is breathtaking, especially on the western side, offering a smorgasbord of deep valleys, gullies, waterfalls and burbling streams, towering cliffs and in winter it's a snowy wonderland.
It connects Hlotse and Pitseng in the west with Ha Lejone in the east. Allow an hour to drive the route and more if you want to stop for photos. There is a large, safe and well constructed viewing point at the summit (12 km mark) with magnificent views down the valley to the west, as well as the famous built-up hairpin bend near the summit.
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