| .......................................................................................................................................................................... Karakoram Highway .......................................................................................................................................................................... |
| Karakoram
means 'crumbling rock' in Turkish. The 1,284-kilometre Karakoram Highway
linking Islamabad and Kashgar is a stunning roadway winding through some
of the most inhospitable terrain in the world, past the region of Chinese
Turkestan and the great mountain ranges of the Himalayas, Karakorams and
Pamirs, following one of the ancient Silk Road routes to the valleys of
the Indus, Gilgit and Hunza rivers. The highway, begun in 1967, is an incredible
feat of engineering by Chinese construction teams. The passage through the
Northern Territories of Pakistan was blasted out of sheer rock faces that
rise high above deep canvons carved by the rushing waters of the Indus River
and its tributaries. In some places men suspended by ropes hand-drilled
the holes for the dynamite. More than 400 lives were lost in building the
road, and small stone cairns mark the graves. It can still be unpredictable--rock
slides and flash floods are a constant threat and frequently hold up transportation.
The Pakistan Frontier Works Organization has deployed 10,000 soldiers on
the other side of the border for road maintenance and emergency clearance.
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| .......................................................................................................................................................................... Karakul Lake .......................................................................................................................................................................... |
| One of the
most scenic spots on the Chinese side of Karakoram Highway is Karakul Lake. It is 196 kilometers from Kashgar, located between Kongur Mountain (7719 meters) and Muztagh-Ata Mountain (7546 meters). The journey from Kashgar to Karakul is stunning, high mountain pastures with grazing camels and yaks tended by Tajiks who live in yurts. << Back to Kashgar Info |
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