1. Sani Pass, South Africa
/Lesotho
You need a 4×4 to traverse South Africa’s notorious Sani Pass – and only if border authorities think your vehicle’s up to the challenge. Along the road, you’ll see debris from cars that weren’t so lucky.
A pathway from SA’s Kwazulu-Natal region to neighbouring country Lesotho, the 9km Sani Pass sends drivers on a hair-raising journey of steep and slippery slopes over the Northern Lesotho Mountains. It closes at 6pm every day, and is often shut due to bad weather.
2. Chapman’s Peak Drive, Cape
Chapman’s Peak Drive was hacked in to the near-vertical face of mountain on the western side of the Cape Peninsula, 15km from Cape Town.
Running from Noordhoek to Hout Bay, the twisting 9km drive has 114 curves and gives you spectacular 180° views of the Atlantic coastline.
A first look at the Great American Rail-Trail—and which section to cycle in 2025 The…
A baby great white shark, likely not Liberty, takes the bait during a research expedition…
Where to see the world’s brightest bioluminescent tides Watching phytoplankton illuminate the world's shores is…
There Are Two Kinds of Credit Cards Yet another way the poor are subsidizing the…
Illustration by Akshita Chandra / The Atlantic. Source: Getty. March 17, 2025 THE ATLANTIC America’s…