Karakoram highway world's 8th wonder known as the great silk road is the highest paved road in the world that connects Pakistan and China at Khunjerab pass. The international paved road on the highest elevation at the Pak-China border is known as Karakoram Highway (KKH), formerly Silk road has importance for both countries to trade with.
It not only connects Pakistan with its brotherhood country China at Khunjerab Pass, but now it has become a backbone of trade as well. Pak-China corridor has made this Karakoram highway more important for both countries.
Karakoram Highway Pakistan
Pakistan and China started the construction of the Karakoram Highway in 1966, and it was completed in 1978. The Karakoram highway is divided into two parts, one is in Pakistan with a length of 887 km, and the second is in China with a length of 413 km. So the total length of The Karakoram Highway (KKH) is 1300 km.
Start and end of Silk Route
A 1300 km (810 m) long Silk rout's starting point is in Pakistan from Hassan Abdal city of Punjab province. It is named the national highway in Pakistan that connects three provinces of Pakistan.
It connects Punjab province with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit Baltistan provinces. Then it crosses the Pak-China border and becomes China national Highway 314 and ends in Xinjiang Uyghur.
Route Of Karakoram Highway in Pakistan
In Pakistan, The Karakoram highway (Silk Road) starts from Hassan Abdal and reaches China by passing through Haripur Hazara to Abottabad which is about 82 km, Abottabad to Mansehra which is about 23 km, then it leads you to Dasu which is about 190 km from Mansehra.
Next after 125 km you will reach Chilas by traveling on Karakoram highway, your next destination would be Gilgit-Baltistan after 135 km, after that, it will be a distance of about 270 km to reach Khunjerab Pass by crossing Hunza Valley, Nagar, Gulmit, Passu Cones, Gojal, and Sost. Then The Karakoram Highway will lead you to China territory.
Why Silk Road is famous?
There are many reasons why the Silk Road or Silk Route is so popular all over the world. The ancient history and location of this route are the main reasons.
But it also includes the Silk Road, the Karakoram Highway, which is so high above sea level and has spectacular views of the natural beauty that can be seen while traveling on it.
And that it is the only paved road in the whole world that is located at an altitude of 4714 meters above sea level.
Construction of Karakoram Highway
The construction of this road took the world by surprise because for a long time the world's largest companies were unable to do so. It was declared impossible to construct this highest altitude road of the world by a well-known European company after an aerial survey.
The construction of this Karakoram road, despite the dangers of severe weather, heavy snowfall, and landslides, is nothing short of a miracle created by Pakistan and China together. According to a survey, 810 Pakistanis and 82 Chinese died in the construction of the Karakoram Highway.
According to the report, for the completion of Karakoram Highway, 8,000 tons of dynamite was used to cut the hard and rocky chests of the mountains along the way and 30 million cusec meters of rocky mountains were cut to complete the construction of the Karakoram highway.
Karakoram Highway A Wonder on Earth
What is this highway? Just a wonder! Sometimes charming, sometimes mysterious, sometimes calm, sometimes it would make noise, sometimes it would ask questions and sometimes it would answer.
Curiosity to hear the stories of people who have lived on the same roadside for centuries, sometimes desire to know the history of the Indus River, which falls on the rocks along the road !!
Scenic; Karakoram Highway
The Karakoram Highway starts from Hazara District, where you can enjoy the scenic views of lush green valleys till Thakot. Then Indus River will be your companion till Jaglot and then will turn towards Skardu.
The area of Kohistan begins after Thakot, where rivers of water descending from distant heights play an important role in making the journey memorable and interesting. The waterfalls and noisy colorful lakes are really mesmerizing.
After Kohistan, the area of Chilas begins, which is an area consisting of rocky mountains. Chilas is an important area of Diamer district, also known as the gateway to Gilgit-Baltistan. One can reach Chilas from Naran as well via Babusar Top.
After Chilas, the Karakoram Highway begins to revolve around Nanga Parbat and then comes the Raikot Bridge. This is the place where jeeps are rented to go to Ferry Meadows and Nanga Parbat base camp.
After Raikot, a beautiful combination of the snowy Nanga Parbat, the noisy Indus River, and the paved Karakoram Highway forces tourists to be quiet for a while. After this the Gilgit division begins, followed by the first important place, Jaglot. From Jaglot tourists normally travel to Astor, Deosai, and Skardu.
Jaglot is famous as it is the only place in the world that converges three mount ranges of the world which include the Himalayas, the Hindu Kush, and the Karakoram, converge here.
After Jaglot, the capital city of Gilgit-Baltistan, also known as the Northern Areas of Pakistan, begins.
This area is very important not only for its commercial, and political characteristics but has the same impact on its socialism. Naltar, Ashkuman, Ghizr, and Shindor, etc. are reached by jeep from here.
Beyond Gilgit begins the Nagar area, famous for the presence of Raka-Poshi Peak here. You can see this beautiful, mighty, snowy, and gigantic peak from far and wide by traveling on the Karakoram Highway. Nagar and Hunza valleys are located on both sides of the beautiful Karakoram Highway.
Here you can see the beauty of Karakoram Highway at its best. I don't think any tourist can pass by this place on the Karakoram Highway without clenching his fingers in his teeth. The Passo Cones here is a prime example of it.
The area of Hunza and Nagar is very beautiful. High mighty peaks, white giant-like glaciers, water splashing waterfalls, and noisy rivers are characteristic of this area.
The prominent mountains of this region are Raka-Poshi, Batura Glacier, Baltoro glacier, and much more as this area is known as a land of glaciers as well.
There is also a very attractive lake called Attabad lake, which is 21 km long and came into existence by accident due to the fall of a mountain. After the area of Sost, the Karakoram Highway reaches Khanjrab, the last stop in Pakistan.
The area from Sost to Khanjrab is uninhabited, with rugged mountains The Karakoram Highway led you constant towards height. The height of Karakoram Highway at Khanjrab Pass is 4,693 meters.
That is why it is called the highest highway in the world. Khunjerab has unique animals of the world including Marco Polo sheep, snow leopard, bear, yak, markhor and blue cow, etc. For this reason, Khanjarab has got the status of National Park in Pakistan.
By traveling on Karakoram highway you will find all the traveling stuff to make your journey a memorable one, which includes the view of lush mountains as well as rocky and barren mountain ranges like Passu Cones and gigantic snow peaks like K2 and Raka-Poshi, the abundance of rivers like Indus River, waterfalls, pastures, and all kinds of geographical views including glaciers.
This not only makes your journey on the Karakoram Highway Pakistan beautiful, memorable and stunning but also has a profound effect on your heart and mind. You can say the Karakoram Highway Pakistan (KKH) is not just the highest elevated paved road of the world, but it is the eighth wonder of the world as well.