Karakoram Highway

Karakoram Highway starts from Hasan Abdal, Attock District, Punjab province to the Khunjerab Pass in Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan. It is also called N-35 and “Silk Road”. It is the highest international highway in the world. This highway used to start from Thakot in District Battagram but then it extended till Hasan Abdal in Attock District. Now it also includes part of Hazara Motorway.

The Karakoram Highway is the great road in the north of Pakistan that connects with China. It crosses the great mountain ranges of the world, the Karakoram and the Himalayas, through the 4693-meter elevation of the Khunjrab Pass, connecting China’s Xinjiang Province with the northern regions of Pakistan.

The Karakoram Highway completed in 1986 in a period of twenty years. And it was built jointly by Pakistan and China. 810 Pakistanis and 82 Chinese sacrificed their lives while building it, making it the longest road in Pakistan. Its length is 1300 km. In China it starts from the Chinese city of Kashgar and passes through Khunjarab, Sost, Piso, Attabad, Karimabad, Aliabad, Hunza, Nagar, Gilgit, Dinyar, Juglot, Chilas, Dasu, Patan, Bisham, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Haripur and Hazara. Hoi Hasan meets GT Road at Abdal.

Indus River, Gilgit River, Hunza River, Attabad Lake, several ancient rock carvings, cemeteries, monuments, Nanga Parbat and Rakaposhi peaks, several glaciers and suspension bridges are situated along it. Thus, the highway is one of the routes in the world which has a very high political, social and cultural importance. The highway is built in the difficult mountainous region of Karakoram. So it is also called the eighth wonder of the world.