This is most probably the most difficult non-rock pass in the Drakensberg range. A very long river section, which involves boulder-hopping and bush-whacking, is followed by some incredibly steep and sustained grassy slopes in the upper reaches of the pass. It is not frequently used and the spectacular views are not much of a compensation for the frustrating river section.
Rating:
* * 10/10
Difficulty of the pass is rated from 1-10 (10 being very difficult, only to be attempted by the fit and experienced). A subjective quality rating is indicated by the number of stars (1 being low, 5 being the highest). Factors such as scenic beauty and overall experience come into play here, which may differ from person to person.
Access:
Icidi Pass can be accessed by a full day’s walk-in (18 km) from the Mnweni Cultural Centre. The Icidi river valley branches off right from the Mnweni river valley about 2 km before Shepherd’s Cave.
Details:
The distance from Grasscutter’s Cave to the top of Icidi Pass is 4 km with an altitude gain of 1200m.
Route:
There is a faint path with many deviations which follows the left-hand (southern) bank of the river from the start of the Icidi river valley all the way up to Grasscutter's Cave. If you manage to lose the path (it’s very easy to do so), follow the boulder bed of the river, bush-whacking up the slopes to avoid the occasional waterfall. At the point where the path cuts in towards the river and disappears completely, you have to find your own way up the rest of the boulder bed until the upper grassy slopes. Just make sure you stick to the boulder bed until the boulders turn into scree and the steep grassy slopes up to the top of the pass can be reached. From here on, it’s just a never-ending, incredibly steep slog up to the top of the pass at 3100m.
Finding the pass from the top:
Just north of the Icidi Buttress, a large gully and then, a little higher up the slope, a smaller gully can be found. The smaller, northern-most gully is Icidi Pass. There is a small cairn marking the top.
Overnight Spots:
Grasscutter’s cave, which sleeps 12 people, is ideally located for use as an overnight spot when ascending the pass. It is occasionally used by locals and is therefore quite dirty but is nevertheless, a good shelter. Icidi cave, a small hollow which can only just fit 2 people, is situated about 50m in altitude below the top on the left-hand (southern) side of the pass. There are many good camping spots on the escarpment itself.
Water:
The Icidi River has running water until just past the end of the path. From there on, the next water can be found in a river on the escarpment, about 200m from the top of Icidi Pass.
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Icidi Pass
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It depends entirely on where the water is 
It can be at any or all of your numbered spots. The spot where I normally go is as follows: As you top out at Icidi and look inland, at your 11 o clock there is a depression and a lovely little "gorge" with waterfall. I've always found water here. However, if dry then you will probably have to walk further downstream towards Ifidi side, or even more inland.
It can be at any or all of your numbered spots. The spot where I normally go is as follows: As you top out at Icidi and look inland, at your 11 o clock there is a depression and a lovely little "gorge" with waterfall. I've always found water here. However, if dry then you will probably have to walk further downstream towards Ifidi side, or even more inland.
Thank you for the reply Sabine. Normally, when you get to the top of Icidi Pass where do you look for that stream on the below image?
There is normally a little stream flowing near the top of Icidi. However, the rains this year have been scarce that it might be dry now.
I was at the top of Mnweni end of April and most surprised that the river there was hardly flowing. We had to go further South to where we normally camp to find suitable water.
I was at the top of Mnweni end of April and most surprised that the river there was hardly flowing. We had to go further South to where we normally camp to find suitable water.
I read on the description of Icidi Pass (www.vertical-endeavour.com/blog/38-drakensberg/passes/127-icidi-pass.html) that there is water at the top of the pass but it doesn't say if it applies to summer or winter. Does anyone know if there will be water at the top of Icidi in two weeks? Any info will be greatly appreciated.
P.S. In a few previous posts, I chatted here with Riaang about a shortcut between Ifidi and Icidi Passes. Unfortunately, I don't have an update if the shortcut work because we had to change our plans and ended up skipping Ifidi/Icidi passes on that hike.
P.S. In a few previous posts, I chatted here with Riaang about a shortcut between Ifidi and Icidi Passes. Unfortunately, I don't have an update if the shortcut work because we had to change our plans and ended up skipping Ifidi/Icidi passes on that hike.
@Matroskinn,
Give the guys at MCC a call, they might be able to provide you with information that might be useful. No need to visit them physically.
Agreed with your blue line, but do have an escape plan on hand should this not work out. Often things look easy on the map, especially from high up in the sky, and then the terrain itself is dramatically different. I've had that happen a few times I'm sure you'll figure it out as you explore.
Enjoy the Berg!!!
Give the guys at MCC a call, they might be able to provide you with information that might be useful. No need to visit them physically.
Agreed with your blue line, but do have an escape plan on hand should this not work out. Often things look easy on the map, especially from high up in the sky, and then the terrain itself is dramatically different. I've had that happen a few times
I'm sure you'll figure it out as you explore.Enjoy the Berg!!!
Hello Riaang.
Thank you for the reply. We're not starting at MCC (going to hike in via Bell Traverse) so chatting with MCC staff won't happen.
I'm also concerned about those cliffs between the passes. I spent too many hours this weekend comparing paper map with my Osmand map with topo overlay and Google Map/Earth and the best route I see to make a shortcut from Ifidi to Icidi is the blue line:
The hike is Apr 28-May 7 so I'll update here if the short cut works out.
Thank you for the reply. We're not starting at MCC (going to hike in via Bell Traverse) so chatting with MCC staff won't happen.
I'm also concerned about those cliffs between the passes. I spent too many hours this weekend comparing paper map with my Osmand map with topo overlay and Google Map/Earth and the best route I see to make a shortcut from Ifidi to Icidi is the blue line:
The hike is Apr 28-May 7 so I'll update here if the short cut works out.
Hi Matroskinn,
As far as I'm aware, you will head down to the river to find a path than links the two passes. I've never attempted a shortcut higher up between the passes, maybe somebody with experience can advise you. Maybe try the guys at MCC, they would definitely know as it's their backyard
Looking on Google Earth the northern section of Icidi has fairly high cliffs - much more pronounced than on Ifidi. So, if you cut South from the lower portions of Ifidi, you will climb uphill and then will have to drop all the height gained as you drop down to the river again. My concern here is how steep those cliff walls are. There is possibly a way down, but I don't know of it. If you do come across a shortcut, please let me know.
As far as I'm aware, you will head down to the river to find a path than links the two passes. I've never attempted a shortcut higher up between the passes, maybe somebody with experience can advise you. Maybe try the guys at MCC, they would definitely know as it's their backyard
Looking on Google Earth the northern section of Icidi has fairly high cliffs - much more pronounced than on Ifidi. So, if you cut South from the lower portions of Ifidi, you will climb uphill and then will have to drop all the height gained as you drop down to the river again. My concern here is how steep those cliff walls are. There is possibly a way down, but I don't know of it. If you do come across a shortcut, please let me know.
Does anyone have any information on a path between Icidi and Ifidi passes at the bottom of the passes? I will be coming down Ifidi and then want to swing over to the bottom of Icidi to go up it the next day. The plan is to start early going down Ifidi and hopefully get to the Grasscutters Cave at the bottom of Icidi on the same day. I've only used the Contour Path to go north/south but it's not available in Mnweni area. Does anyone know a path or even approximate directions on how to get from the bottom of Ifidi to the bottom of Icidi (Grasscutters Cave)? Any information will be much appreciated.
I came down Icidi Pass in June last year, and there was no real damage from the flooding. Having previously done the pass, I had some experience and managed to avoid most of the bush quite easily, although from other peoples comments I think my tolerance for bush is much higher than most peoples. There is still no path on the pass, you get onto a faint path at the river crossing, where you exit the worst bush, upstream of Jubilee Cave, and the path gets better towards Jubilee Cave.
There is already an extensive Icidi Pass thread.
There is already an extensive Icidi Pass thread.
Has anyone hiked Icidi Pass recently? Or since the big storm February last year when the rivers in the area changed their course slightly?
I did it many years ago, and then there was hardly a path and we had to rely on our GPS. Was wondering if its any better or is it totally overgrown now?
I did it many years ago, and then there was hardly a path and we had to rely on our GPS. Was wondering if its any better or is it totally overgrown now?
Thanks Ghaz for the write up
While it is a beautiful pass in respect to scenery, which cannot be disputed, it was very tough, and my legs are very torn up from the overgrowth.
My two cents, we descended the pass, which is also Ghaz suggestion for others looking to do the pass, as opposed to ascending the pass, we did start from Ifidi cave, but it took us most of the morning (all in fact) to descend to the Mnweni river junction, I can't recall what time we got to the junction, but it was close/around midday and we had got a 4.30am start, so for anyone looking to do icidi timing needs to be considered, I think that the ascent would generally need to be done in more than one day.
While it is a beautiful pass in respect to scenery, which cannot be disputed, it was very tough, and my legs are very torn up from the overgrowth.
My two cents, we descended the pass, which is also Ghaz suggestion for others looking to do the pass, as opposed to ascending the pass, we did start from Ifidi cave, but it took us most of the morning (all in fact) to descend to the Mnweni river junction, I can't recall what time we got to the junction, but it was close/around midday and we had got a 4.30am start, so for anyone looking to do icidi timing needs to be considered, I think that the ascent would generally need to be done in more than one day.
On New Years Eve, myself and WarrenM descended Icidi Pass (we began the day in Ifidi Cave). Seeing as the pass has been the cause of a lot of discussion in the past, here's my thoughts on it.
Important notes:
1) We had light packs, which obviously makes everything a lot easier
2) We had perfect weather, but it was a very hot day
3) The river was full, making rock hopping a bit more tricky, and meaning that the vegetation was in full force
4) Any suggestion of "simple" or "easy" is a reference relative to other difficult grass passes such as Pins, Mbundini or Ships Prow
5) All references are relative to descent of the pass
There is a faint trail near the top of the pass, but it dies fairly quickly. The pass tops out around 3100m, and is a steep grass gully till you hit the river around 2600m. Unlike almost every other grass pass, there is no river in this upper section, which gives you a delightful wide grass gully to zig-zag on - meaning you can make it as steep or gradual as you like. The ground was stable when we did it, which also helps.
The final 30m or so of vertical before hitting the river is where the pass starts getting "fun" (unpleasant might be a better word for it). The vegetation isn't thorny, but conceals holes in the ground and slippery rocks. Care is required to get down this without twisting an ankle.
In my opinion, the pass becomes the walk-out at the point where you hit the river. To make references clearer, any reference to the section above the river will be referred to as the "pass-proper".
Once you hit the river, the game changes. What is unusual here is that the gully gets fairly narrow once you are off the pass-proper, so you are often forced out of the river into the overgrowth to avoid waterfalls and rock pools. In any other region of the Berg, you would normally start moving out of the gully fairly high and get onto a ridge/contour path. If this was the case here, this would be a fairly simple pass, in the same league as the likes of Giants or Judge Pass. But unfortunately this is not the case. I would speculate that it is possible to come up with a line that leaves the river fairly early, and if such a line was developed into a good trail, this pass would be awesome - the views are definitely worth it, and you would skip all the nasty stuff at the bottom. Unfortunately, we either didn't pick the best line, or alternatively there isn't a viable line to skip all of this. What makes matters worse is that we were only able to pick a trail near Jubilee Cave, which is around 1750m, meaning that we had to drop about as much altitude off trail in the riverbed as we did on the pass-proper.
Most of it is fairly standard boulder hopping down a riverbed, much like you find at the bottom of a number of less commonly visited passes. I am not sure what made this boulder hopping less pleasant than normal - I think it was the very hot day. You know a day is hot when I voluntarily actually go into the water, and it happened twice on this day, so it must have been a really hot day!
The river is also full of waterfalls and large rock pools. With the full river, these made for quite a sight
At one point, the valley narrows and you are forced out of the river, putting you into a fairly unpleasant overgrown patch. We re-entered the river by a side gully full of thorn bushes. Not fun!
On one of the sections where we were forced out of the river, we encountered a large number of cycads:
By the lower reaches, the grass slopes on the side were wide enough, and we left the river to follow the bank. About 1km before Jubilee Cave, we found a trail, which we followed to the junction with the Mnweni River, where we turned right to head up towards Mnweni Pass (well, we were heading to Rwanqa Pass at the time, but a certain individual whose VE name is derived from a Persian successor state was not in good shape, definitely not in good enough shape to hit one of the hardest passes in the area).
My thoughts on the pass:
Scenery
From the upper reaches, you can see the Mnweni Needles, Cathedral Ridge and Champagne Ridge, making for quite an amazing view. Rock towers and cliffs tower above you as well, making for a really special spot.
Difficulty
I can't put my finger on why I was so badly trashed by this pass. It was definitely a hot day, perhaps I was tired from doing Ifidi the day before, maybe my lack of hiking in 2017 was starting to show, or perhaps I ate too much over Christmas - or maybe Icidi is just a difficult pass. I can't put my finger on anything that makes this pass particularly difficult. Unpleasant - sure, but not exceptionally difficult.
The fact is that I would never dream of heading down Ships Prow and up another pass on the same day, so perhaps I was just over-estimating my limits/current fitness.
As for the thought of it as the hardest grass pass in the Berg - I don't think it is. If we consider a pass in isolation, I would give this designation to Pins Pass. If we consider round-trip between the car park and the top, It would be a tough call between Pins, Ships Prow, Cathkin Mountain Pass and Mohlesi Pass (on a side note, CMP has no scrambling, although it is mostly not on grass - if Icidi's boulder hopping counts as a grass pass, then so does CMP's). Out of the hardest grass passes I have done, Icidi was definitely the least pleasant, but it wasn't the most unpleasant grass pass I have ever done - South Saddle takes the cake (and eats it too) on that one.
Would I do it again?
No - and I wouldn't recommend it anyone that isn't adamant on bagging every pass in the Berg. Definitely not a pass for beginners either. The pass simply dies on an unpleasant walk-in, much like Ships Prow/CMP. There is nothing wrong with the pass itself, it is just a case of having to survive the approach/walk-out, hopefully with your sense of humour intact.
I would also suggest going down it, rather than up it. It makes a nice loop with Ifidi Pass.
The number of caves on the route mean that you can go fairly light - I would not want to do this with a heavy pack. Cycad Cave was full of fleas, and we didn't stop at Jubilee or Grasscutters Cave - but the same might be true of them - so just be aware of that.
Important notes:
1) We had light packs, which obviously makes everything a lot easier
2) We had perfect weather, but it was a very hot day
3) The river was full, making rock hopping a bit more tricky, and meaning that the vegetation was in full force
4) Any suggestion of "simple" or "easy" is a reference relative to other difficult grass passes such as Pins, Mbundini or Ships Prow
5) All references are relative to descent of the pass
There is a faint trail near the top of the pass, but it dies fairly quickly. The pass tops out around 3100m, and is a steep grass gully till you hit the river around 2600m. Unlike almost every other grass pass, there is no river in this upper section, which gives you a delightful wide grass gully to zig-zag on - meaning you can make it as steep or gradual as you like. The ground was stable when we did it, which also helps.
The final 30m or so of vertical before hitting the river is where the pass starts getting "fun" (unpleasant might be a better word for it). The vegetation isn't thorny, but conceals holes in the ground and slippery rocks. Care is required to get down this without twisting an ankle.
In my opinion, the pass becomes the walk-out at the point where you hit the river. To make references clearer, any reference to the section above the river will be referred to as the "pass-proper".
Once you hit the river, the game changes. What is unusual here is that the gully gets fairly narrow once you are off the pass-proper, so you are often forced out of the river into the overgrowth to avoid waterfalls and rock pools. In any other region of the Berg, you would normally start moving out of the gully fairly high and get onto a ridge/contour path. If this was the case here, this would be a fairly simple pass, in the same league as the likes of Giants or Judge Pass. But unfortunately this is not the case. I would speculate that it is possible to come up with a line that leaves the river fairly early, and if such a line was developed into a good trail, this pass would be awesome - the views are definitely worth it, and you would skip all the nasty stuff at the bottom. Unfortunately, we either didn't pick the best line, or alternatively there isn't a viable line to skip all of this. What makes matters worse is that we were only able to pick a trail near Jubilee Cave, which is around 1750m, meaning that we had to drop about as much altitude off trail in the riverbed as we did on the pass-proper.
Most of it is fairly standard boulder hopping down a riverbed, much like you find at the bottom of a number of less commonly visited passes. I am not sure what made this boulder hopping less pleasant than normal - I think it was the very hot day. You know a day is hot when I voluntarily actually go into the water, and it happened twice on this day, so it must have been a really hot day!
The river is also full of waterfalls and large rock pools. With the full river, these made for quite a sight
At one point, the valley narrows and you are forced out of the river, putting you into a fairly unpleasant overgrown patch. We re-entered the river by a side gully full of thorn bushes. Not fun!
On one of the sections where we were forced out of the river, we encountered a large number of cycads:
By the lower reaches, the grass slopes on the side were wide enough, and we left the river to follow the bank. About 1km before Jubilee Cave, we found a trail, which we followed to the junction with the Mnweni River, where we turned right to head up towards Mnweni Pass (well, we were heading to Rwanqa Pass at the time, but a certain individual whose VE name is derived from a Persian successor state was not in good shape, definitely not in good enough shape to hit one of the hardest passes in the area).
My thoughts on the pass:
Scenery
From the upper reaches, you can see the Mnweni Needles, Cathedral Ridge and Champagne Ridge, making for quite an amazing view. Rock towers and cliffs tower above you as well, making for a really special spot.
Difficulty
I can't put my finger on why I was so badly trashed by this pass. It was definitely a hot day, perhaps I was tired from doing Ifidi the day before, maybe my lack of hiking in 2017 was starting to show, or perhaps I ate too much over Christmas - or maybe Icidi is just a difficult pass. I can't put my finger on anything that makes this pass particularly difficult. Unpleasant - sure, but not exceptionally difficult.
The fact is that I would never dream of heading down Ships Prow and up another pass on the same day, so perhaps I was just over-estimating my limits/current fitness.
As for the thought of it as the hardest grass pass in the Berg - I don't think it is. If we consider a pass in isolation, I would give this designation to Pins Pass. If we consider round-trip between the car park and the top, It would be a tough call between Pins, Ships Prow, Cathkin Mountain Pass and Mohlesi Pass (on a side note, CMP has no scrambling, although it is mostly not on grass - if Icidi's boulder hopping counts as a grass pass, then so does CMP's). Out of the hardest grass passes I have done, Icidi was definitely the least pleasant, but it wasn't the most unpleasant grass pass I have ever done - South Saddle takes the cake (and eats it too) on that one.
Would I do it again?
No - and I wouldn't recommend it anyone that isn't adamant on bagging every pass in the Berg. Definitely not a pass for beginners either. The pass simply dies on an unpleasant walk-in, much like Ships Prow/CMP. There is nothing wrong with the pass itself, it is just a case of having to survive the approach/walk-out, hopefully with your sense of humour intact.
I would also suggest going down it, rather than up it. It makes a nice loop with Ifidi Pass.
The number of caves on the route mean that you can go fairly light - I would not want to do this with a heavy pack. Cycad Cave was full of fleas, and we didn't stop at Jubilee or Grasscutters Cave - but the same might be true of them - so just be aware of that.
On the question of rented transport from Mnweni Cultural Centre.
On the way out we took a lift to the end (over the new bridge) of the road up the Mnweni valley which was 5.8 km. We then used the path on the right (true left) side of the Mnweni River to the Icidi valley, which was a pleasant departure from the much used path on the left (true right) side. This right path was an efficient way to get to the Icidi valley, but if going further up the Mnweni valley, I would still recommend the path on the left.
On our return, we were picked up near the Mnweni River bridge where the path descends down the ridge to the road, and this lift was 4 km.
It is also possible to get a lift up the Ntonjelana valley for about 4 km.
The respective lifts cost R 20 and R 15 (per person), in our opinion good value on the way out from a time saving point of view, and on the return to avoid the slog with tired bodies along the road back to the MCC.
On the way out we took a lift to the end (over the new bridge) of the road up the Mnweni valley which was 5.8 km. We then used the path on the right (true left) side of the Mnweni River to the Icidi valley, which was a pleasant departure from the much used path on the left (true right) side. This right path was an efficient way to get to the Icidi valley, but if going further up the Mnweni valley, I would still recommend the path on the left.
On our return, we were picked up near the Mnweni River bridge where the path descends down the ridge to the road, and this lift was 4 km.
It is also possible to get a lift up the Ntonjelana valley for about 4 km.
The respective lifts cost R 20 and R 15 (per person), in our opinion good value on the way out from a time saving point of view, and on the return to avoid the slog with tired bodies along the road back to the MCC.
tonymarshall wrote: The photo below (taken on a previous hike from the ridge across the Mnweni river) shows Icidi Pass on the left hand side of the shadow, and the Icidi Valley almost to it's confluence with the Mnweni.
Thanks for posting the photos and the route description Tony.
That photo above has got to be the most beautiful valley in the world.
I have done both passes recently, although Icidi was going down and Ships was going up!
I found Icidi a nasty steep pass with so much bundu bashing that we got badly scratched. Luckily George (Geordie) had a track on his GPS which sometimes headed straight into thick, prickly bush, it was very unpleasant! I vowed never to do it again! (famous last words)
Ship's Prow on the other hand we went up from Monk's Cowl in one day which made it extremely tough due to hiking 15km before the actual pass started. Quite a bit of bundu bashing at the bottom of the pass but nothing compared to Icidi. The really tough part came in the actual pass, the last about 1,5km of steep uphill. There was a feint path and short grass so it could have been easy going, if it wasn't for exhaustion and altitude. I have never struggled so much with lack of breath to get up that last bit.
If I had to go down this pass to compare it with Icidi, then I would say Icidi is tougher. And if I had to go up Icidi to compare it with Ships, I would also say that Icidi is the tougher one, simply because of the nasty bundu bashing and the loose scree!
The cycads were the worst!
I found Icidi a nasty steep pass with so much bundu bashing that we got badly scratched. Luckily George (Geordie) had a track on his GPS which sometimes headed straight into thick, prickly bush, it was very unpleasant! I vowed never to do it again! (famous last words)
Ship's Prow on the other hand we went up from Monk's Cowl in one day which made it extremely tough due to hiking 15km before the actual pass started. Quite a bit of bundu bashing at the bottom of the pass but nothing compared to Icidi. The really tough part came in the actual pass, the last about 1,5km of steep uphill. There was a feint path and short grass so it could have been easy going, if it wasn't for exhaustion and altitude. I have never struggled so much with lack of breath to get up that last bit.
If I had to go down this pass to compare it with Icidi, then I would say Icidi is tougher. And if I had to go up Icidi to compare it with Ships, I would also say that Icidi is the tougher one, simply because of the nasty bundu bashing and the loose scree!
The cycads were the worst!
Icidi is the 'mother of all passes' for me and certainly the most strenuous one I have done in 12 years of hiking. I have not done Ships Prow and not likely to if it is considered tougher than Icidi! What is the concensus out there from those that have done both? 
Thanks Tony! The memories of that bush have faded with time, so I'm glad there is now some good photographic evidence online! If only to remind me why I vowed never to do that blasted pass again... 
And no, I also haven't been able to find a path above Jubilee Cave before.
And no, I also haven't been able to find a path above Jubilee Cave before.
Nice trip report and images as always. Looks like a fair slog!
How many km can you go by rented bakkie?
How many km can you go by rented bakkie?
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