There are several good examples of corbelled houses in this area
There are several good examples of corbelled houses in this area - Photo: Panoramio

This very short and fairly minor 'pass' is nothing more than a slight bump in the flat Karoo topography and is located about midway between Fraserburg and Loxton in the Northern Cape, just off the R356 on a minor gravel road that connects the R356 with the R361.  About the most exciting feature of this pass, is the tricky navigation trying to find it. This tiny little pass is not really worth seeking out and you will be disappointed with what it has to offer. It is strictly for the commited pass hunter.

Somewhere along the line, a lazy cartographer spelt the name as Amandeihoogte, which has subsequently been repeated on many maps in a typical copy/paste syndrome. This incorrect spelling makes no sense at all and we have officially confirmed on the 1:50,000 government map, that the name is Amandelhoogte. This is also the name of the farm at the northern end of the pass.

To add to the confusion, there is an Amandelnek Pass in the Tankwa Karoo, which would be bound to cause confusion.

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Still not convinced?

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