Thabana Ntlenyana Climbing notes shared by Mountain-Forecast users

  • March 07, 2017
    Alison Chadwick from South Africa

    Our group of 12 hikers did Thabana Ntlenyana on Saturday 4 March 2017. We slept at Sani Top Backpackers on Friday night and set off at 6am with 2 guides from the Lodge. The hike from the Lodge is 32kms there and back and took us just under 11 hours. It is not a technical hike, lovely scenery along the way – the altitude did get to a few of our party. We had bitterly cold conditions, driving rain and then full sunshine. You have about 8 river crossings, plus walk thru a lot of marsh and wetlands. Most enjoyable.

  • May 10, 2015
    Olivier from South Africa

    Dumela!
    Just a little correction: Thabana Ntlenyana means "beautiful little mountain" in Basotho and not black. Black Rock Mountain is a nearby mountain, which the pass is an alternative way to hike until Thabna Ntlenyana. I was there a couple of days ago. The summit in itself isn't impressive, but the whole hike through epic Lesotho landscapes, kraals and surrounding villages is stunning.

  • October 18, 2011
    Gavin Raubenheimer, Peak High Mountaineering from South Africa

    Thabana Ntlenyana is the highest peak in southern Africa. ie, south of Kilimanjaro. It is small flat topped mountain inside the Kingdom of Lesotho. Most hikers use the top of Sani Pass as their starting point. From Sani Top its about an 8 hour hike there and back. In the local language it means the "little black mountain".

  • August 04, 2011
    Garth from South Africa

    Please, only use qualified and registered guides while exploring the higher Drakensberg. Govertical Mountaineering Adventures.