Lowari Tunnel

Lowari Tunnel is a 10.4 km long tunnel located in Upper Dir District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is one of the longest tunnels in South Asia and the longest tunnel in Pakistan, overcoming the Khojak Tunnel by 3.91 km in 2018. The tunnel runs under the Lowari Pass in the Hindu Kush mountain range.

This tunnel connects the Lower Chitral and Upper Dir districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. These are two tunnels, one 8.5 km long and the other 1.9 km long. The project began in late 2005 and by the end of 2008 a South Korean company had dug an 8.5 km long tunnel. By the end of 2018, the tunnel opened to traffic.

Before the tunnel’s completion, the treacherous Lowari Pass would close for nearly five months each winter due to heavy snow, cutting off Chitral from the rest of Pakistan. Today, the tunnel ensures year-round access, although travelers still experience dramatic shifts in landscape as they traverse from verdant Dir valleys to the rugged grandeur of Chitral.