Killian’s Pass

About Killian’s Pass

The Eastern Cape is full of lonely gravel roads, incredibly pretty countryside and some of the highest and steepest gravel mountain passes in the country - at least thirty of them. It is, without doubt, an adventure biker’s, or 4x4 enthusiast’s, world.

Did you know? From Barkly East, take the R58 briefly towards Lady Grey, turning right where the R58 loops over itself and joins the R396 in a southerly direction. Around 33 km later you will reach Greyling’s Pass.

The area between Lady Grey and Tarkastad is no exception to the rule. There are no fewer than five passes, one of them being Killians Pass (the others include Greylings, Smuts, Penhoek and Rebelshoogte passes).

Killian’s Pass makes it onto the list of highest mountain passes in South Africa. You will find it on the gravel R396 north of Dordrecht, en route to Barkly East, near the little hamlet of Rossouw - a pretty little town along the trout-rich Bell River, overshadowed by Ben MacDhui, worth a stop only for its little red-roofed church.

It is not a difficult pass to navigate, neither is it very long, but it does have some really pretty scenery. Unless it is raining or snowing - in which case a 4WD would be preferable as the road quickly becomes incredibly muddy - the road is easy enough for all vehicles.

Bear in mind that Killian’s Pass is not the only pass on the R396, and to reach it you will first need to navigate Greyling’s Pass, for which you will need a 4WD. If you don’t want to navigate Greyling’s Pass, then it is better to come at Killian’s from the south - take the R396 off the tarred R56 just east of Indwe, and follow it to Rossouw, taking a right at the Y-junction.