The 1,300-kilometer highway leads through one of the highest mountain systems in the world. The average height of the Karakorum mountain range is 6,000 meters, making it the highest paved highway in the world. It cannot even be called a simple mountain road, because it makes you feel like you are on another planet. It is not for nothing that it is called the eighth wonder of the world.
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It took almost 20 years and more than 24 thousand workers to build one of the most impressive highways in the world. The Karakorum high mountain road connects Western China and Pakistan, and accordingly the construction works were paid for by both countries – each on its own side. After the highway opened in 1978, it was even referred to as the China-Pakistan Commonwealth Highway, as it was built to connect the two superpowers.
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Now it has become a popular tourist destination where you can enjoy breathtaking mountain scenery and get to know the traditions of the local people. At the same time, the Karakorum highway is one of the most strategically important in the entire region, as military goods would be transported along it in case of war. But in times of peace, it is an important trade route between the Indian subcontinent and China.
The highest point at an altitude of 4693 meters
The 1,300-kilometer long highway begins in the small town of Hasan Abdal, which is located approximately 40 kilometers from Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. In turn, the grand highway ends in Kashgar in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in western China.
The Karakoram Highway is one of the few routes that goes through the western part of the Himalayas. At one time, this route was a branch of the Silk Road, along which caravans traveled. Although no evidence of those times has survived, brightly painted trucks carrying goods still drive along the highway today.
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Tourists, local residents and shepherds who lead sheep to pastures on the mountain slopes also travel along the highway. Therefore, the crowding of sheep and cars on the sections of the highway that passes through the villages has become a common sight. Sheep farming is an ancient occupation of the local population, which they practiced long before the highway was built here.
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The highway has forever changed both local life and the landscape of the Karakoram Mountains. By the way, Karakorum means “black rocks” in the Turkic language – this is exactly what the mountain ranges look like today – mighty, dark gray rocks, the peaks of which are covered with snow and ice. Only, unlike in the olden times, now there is a road leading through the mighty mountain ranges, which from time to time literally goes through the rocks.
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The Karakorum High Mountain Road is amazing in every way. Both because of the surrounding landscapes and the local population, who have preserved the traditions of their ancestors until today. The work that went into building the highway is also mind boggling. The highest point of the highway is 4693 meters above sea level. Isn’t it a miracle?
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Although the highway offers wonderful mountain views along its entire length, one of the most popular stretches for tourists is through the Hunza Valley. In this unimaginably beautiful stretch, you can observe glaciers, snow-capped mountain peaks, clear lakes, and also meet local residents who, honoring their ancestors, continue the ancient traditions.
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Rthe act used information from “Traveler Trails” and “BBC Travel“.
2023-09-10 17:57:20
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