Likalong la Nkesi Pass (A5) - Lesotho

This pass is located on the A5 route between Lekhalong and Ramabanta. It's 6.7 km long and displays and altitude variance of 343m, with a summit height of 2008m ASL. The average gradient is 1:20 with the steepest sections measuring in at 1:8. Most of this pass when traveling from north to south is downhill and descends through several villages, including Lekhalong, Nkesi and Ramabanta. The pass takes its name from the village of Nkesi.

Comply with the speed limits and stay on the lookout for livestock, children and dogs. The usual cautionaries apply of livestock on the road, mountain mists, snow and ice, but this pass is not as prone to snow due to its relatively lower altitude.

As the gradient eases off near the bottom of the pass, there is a nice camping site on the right, on the banks of the river, with good shade. Ramabanta is quite a busy little town where most provisions can be acquired

The pass ends at the crossing of the Makhaleng River.

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Note: Google Earth software reads the actual topography and ignores roads, cuttings, tunnels, bridges and excavations. The Google Earth vertical-profile animation generates a number of parallax errors, so the profile is only a general guide of what to expect in terms of gradients, distance and elevation. The graph may present some impossible and improbable sharp spikes, which should be ignored.

Digging into the details:

Getting there:

We filmed this pass from north to south in the descending mode.

1. Approach from Roma along the A5 route for 28 km to arrive at the northern start of the pass.

2. To approach from the south, head north-west from Semonkong on the A5 for 44 km to arrive at the southern start of the pass.

Description:

The pass starts on a short straight stretch of the A5 at the crossing of a small stream at an altitude of 1847m and begins ascending immediately. Within a few hundred metres the road rises sharply and swings through a wide 90 degree bend to the right. This is followed by a much sharper left hand bend of 160 degrees, then follows the spine of a long ridge towards an obvious neck in the distance.

The gradients get ever steeper towards the summit point where they each 1:7. A solitary building on the right is your sign that you're almost at the 2008m high summit. As you crest the summit, a huge view opens in front of you of several villages and the Makhaleng River valley much further down the valley.

Just after the summit there is a clearing, where you can pull off the road and buy some handmade local souvenirs. These range from miniature huts, to animals and other beaded craft works. The artist needs your support to feed his family.

Once the descent commences, it's best to gear down to a lower gear, to let engine compression do the braking for you, as this is a long, steep descent, which can result in brakes overheating.

There are 9 bends along the descent. Most of them are gentle, but there is a 160 degrees right hand bend at the 3.2 km mark, which requires a slower speed, as well as a 100 degree left hand bend at the 5.3 km point opposite the Ramabanta police station.

As the road levels off to follow the course of the river, there's a good camping spot on the right with ample shade.

Continue for a further 700m to reach the end of the pass at the bridge crossing of the Makhaleng River at the 6.7 km mark at an altitude of 1665m.

There is good hiking in the area and a number of accommodation options, including two lodges. At time of writing (Nov 2025) the Ramabanta Lodge was closed

Fact File:

Route Map:

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Route files:

||Click to download: Nkesi Pass A5 - (Note - This is a .kmz file which can be opened in Google earth and most GPS software systems)