Laing's Nek, or Lang's Nek is a pass

Mountain pass

A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...

 through the Drakensberg

Drakensberg

The Drakensberg is the highest mountain range in Southern Africa, rising to in height. In Zulu, it is referred to as uKhahlamba , and in Sesotho as Maluti...

, South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, immediately north of Majuba, at 27°27′39"S 29°52′10"E at an elevation of 5400 to 6000 ft (1,828.8 m). It is the lowest part of a ridge which slopes from Majuba to the Buffalo River

Buffalo River (KwaZulu-Natal)

The Buffalo River is the largest tributary of the Thukela River. Its source is northeast of Volksrust, close to the Mpumalanga / KwaZulu-Natal border in South Africa. It follows a southerly route into KwaZulu-Natal past Newcastle then turns southeast past Rorke's Drift, before joining the Tugela...

, and before the opening of the railway in 1891 the road over the nek was the main artery of communication between Durban

Durban

Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...

 and Pretoria

Pretoria

Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...

. The railway crosses the pass via a 2213 ft (674.5 m). long tunnel.

When the Boer

Boer

Boer is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for farmer, which came to denote the descendants of the Dutch-speaking settlers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 18th century, as well as those who left the Cape Colony during the 19th century to settle in the Orange Free State,...

s rose in revolt in December 1880 they occupied Laing's Nek to oppose the entry of British reinforcements into the Transvaal

South African Republic

The South African Republic , often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer-ruled country in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of South Africa, it occupied the area later known as the South African...

. On the 28th of January 1881 a small British force endeavoured to drive the Boers from the pass, but was forced to retire after the Battle of Laing's Nek

Battle of Laing's Nek

The Battle of Laing's Nek was a major battle fought at Laing's Nek during the First Boer War on 28 January 1881.-Background:Following the Boer declaration of independence for the Transvaal in 1880 the British suffered a series of disastrous defeats in attempting to regain the territory.On 20...

.