Karakoram Highway
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The Karakoram Highway (KKH) is the highest international road in the world. It connects China to Pakistan across the Karakoram mountain ranges, through the Khunjerab pass at an estimated altitude of 4850 meters. The highway runs about 1,200 km from Kashgar, China to Havelian in the Abbottabad District of Pakistan. An extension of the highway meets the Grand Trunk Road at Hasan Abdal, west of Islamabad, Pakistan.
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Tourism
Adventure travel and mountaineering
In recent years, the KKH has become something of a destination for adventure travel. The road has also given mountaineers easier access to the many high mountains in the area.
Sightseeing
High mountain ranges and glaciers are visible from the road, which also passes through green valleys of great natural beauty. Rock art and petroglyphs are found all along the road. Karimabad is a popular destination.
Weather
Heavy snow during harsh winters can shut the highway down for extended periods. Heavy monsoon rains, around July and August, cause occasional mudslides that can block the road for hours or more. The KKH is best travelled in the spring or early Autumn.
History
The KKH was built by the governments of Pakistan and China, and was completed in 1978, after about twenty years of work. Several hundred Pakistanis and Chinese workers lost their lives, mostly in landslides and falls, while working on the highway. The route of the KKH traces one of the many paths of the ancient Silk Road.
See also
External Links
- Travel Web: Karakoram Highway (http://travel.web.pk/destinations/mountains_valleys/karakorum_highway.asp)
- Northern Areas Development Gateway (http://www.northernareas.org.pk)
- Pakistan's Northern Areas (http://paknews.com/articles.php?id=1&date1=2003-04-17)