view from The Karakoram Highway KKH

The Karakoram Highway (KKH)  is the highest paved international road in the world, but at its peak at the China-Pakistan border it is only paved on the Chinese side. It connects China and Pakistan across the Karakoram mountain range, through theKhunjerab Pass, at an altitude of 4,693 m/15,397 ft as confirmed by both SRTM and multiple GPS readings. 

It connects China's Xinjiang region with Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan and also serves as a popular tourist attraction. Due to its high elevation and the difficult conditions in which it was constructed, it is also referred to as the "Ninth Wonder of the World

The Karakoram Highway, also known as the Friendship Highway in China, was built by the governments of Pakistan and China, it was started in 1959 and was completed in 1979(open to the public since 1986) about 810 Pakistanis and about 200 Chinese workers lost their lives

, mostly in landslides and falls, while building the highway. The route of the KKH traces one of the many paths of the ancient Silk Road.

On the Pakistani side, the road was constructed by FWO (Frontier Works Organisation), employing the Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers. Presently, the Engineer-in-Chief' Branch of the Pakistani Army is working on a project documenting the history of the highway.

 A book 'History of Karakoram Highway' has been written by Brigadier (Retired) Muhammad Mumtaz Khalid. It is in two volumes. In the first volume the author discusses the land and the people, the pre-historic communication system in the Northern Areas, the need for having an all weather road link with Gilgit and the construction of Indus Valley Road. 

The second volume records events leading to conversion of Indus Valley Road to Karakoram Highway, the difficulties in its construction and the role of Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers and the Chinese counterparts in its construction

The highway, connecting Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan- controlled Kashmir to the ancient Silk Road, runs approximately 1,300 km (810 mi) from Kashgar, a city in the Xinjiang region of China, to Abbottabad, of Pakistan. An extension of the highway south west from Abbottabad, in the form of N-35, meets the Grand Trunk Road, N-5 at Hassanabdal, Pakistan.

The highway cuts through the collision zone between the Eurasian and Indian plates, where China, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistancome within 250 km of each other. Owing largely to the extremely sensitive state of the Kashmir conflict between India and Pakistan, the Karakoram highway has strategic and military importance.

On June 30, 2006, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Pakistani Highway Administration and China's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) to rebuild and upgrade the Karakoram Highway

China and Pakistan are also planning to link the Karakoram Highway to the southern port of Gwadar in Balochistan through the Chinese-aided Gwadar-Dalbandin railway, which extends up to Rawalpindi.

The Chinese Section of the Karakoram Highway follows the north-south Sarykol ('Yellow Lake') valley just west of the Tarim Basin, which is barely visible in the satellite image at left. The road from Kashgar goes southwest about 80 km and then turns west to enter the Gez (Ghez) River canyon between Chakragil mountain on the north and Kongur mountain on the south.

From the Gez canyon the population becomes Kirgiz. Having climbed up to the valley, the road turns south past Kongur, Karakul Lake and Muztagh Ata on the east. Below Muztagh Ata a new road goes west over the Kulma Pass to join the Pamir Highway in Gorno-Badakhshan, Tajikistan. The main road continues over a low pass (where the population becomes Tajik) and descends toTashkurgan. Further south a valley and jeep track leads west towards the Wakhjir Pass to theWakhan Corridor

 Next the road turns west to a checkpost and small settlement at Pirali, and then the Khunjerab Pass, beyond which is Pakistan, the Khunjerab River and Hunza.

(In 747 Gao Xianzhi, a Tang general crossed the Broghol Pass into what is now Pakistan - the furthest Chinese penetration in this direction. He was later defeated at the Battle of Talas, and the Chinese withdrew from the region.)

The Pakistani section of the highway is 806 km long. It starts from Abbottabad (though N-35 of which KKH is now a part, officially starts from Hassanabdal). The highway meets the Indus Riverat Thakot,

and continues along the river until Bunji, where the Gilgit River joins the Indus River. This is the place where three great mountain ranges meet, the Hindukush, the Himalaya and theKarakoram. The western end of the Himalayas,

 marked by the 9th highest peak in the world,Nanga Parbat can be seen from the highway. The highway passes through the capital of the Gilgit-Baltistan, Gilgit, and continues to the beautiful valleys of Nagar and Hunza, along the Hunza River.

Some of the highest mountains and famous glaciers in the Karakoram can be seen from the highway in this section. Finally, the highway meets the Pakistan-China border at Khunjerab Pass.

In recent years the highway has become an adventure tourism destination. It was ranked as the 3rd best Tourist Destination in Pakistan by The Guardian. 

 The road has given mountaineers andcyclists easier access to the many high mountains, glaciers and lakes in the area.

The highway provides access to Gilgit and Skardu from Islamabad by road. These are the two major hubs for mountaineering expeditions in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

The Gilgit-Baltistan Administration of Pakistan and the Xinjiang Administration of China have signed an agreement to issue border passes to their permanent residents

 This pass is valid for a calendar year and is used to travel through Khunjerab Pass only.