KARAKORUM HIGHWAY

Northern Areas of Pakistan, spread over 72,496 sq. km are as fascinating as its southern region. Amidst towering snow-clad peaks with heights varying from 1,000 m to 8,000 meters, the regions of Gilgit, Hunza, Baltistan and Shangri-La. The cultural patterns of these regions are as interesting as its geography. The people with typical costumes, folk dances, music and sports like polo and buzkashi, provide the traveller an unforgettable experience.

Out of 14 over 8,000 meters high peaks on earth, 4 occupy an amphitheater at the head of Baltoro glacier in the Karakoram range in Northern Pakistan. These are; K-2 or Mount Godowin Austin (8,611 m, world's second highest), Gasherbrum-I (8,068 m), Broad Peak (8,047 m) and Gasherbrum-II (8,035 m).

There is yet another which is equally great, Nanga Parbat (8,126 m), located at the western most end of the Himalayas. In addition to these mountains, there are 68 peaks over 7,000 m and hundreds others of over 6,000 meters.

- See more at: http://www.itspakistan.net/pakistan/northern-areas.aspx#sthash.tWgIkxuR.dpuf

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For much of the 1284 kms, the KKH crosses a high altitude desert with less than 04 inch rainfall per year. Passing through stupendous gorges, the road cuts along shelves on the cliff faces as much as 500 M above the river. The highway is an incredible feast of modern engineering & an enduring monument to the 810 Pakistanis & 82 Chinese who died forcing a road through what has a reasonable claim to be the world's most difficult & unstable terrain.    
The Karakorums & Himalayas began to form some 55 million years ago when the indian subcontinent drifted northwards & collided with the Asian land mass. India is still trundling northwards at the geologically reckless rate of 05 cm a year, pushing the mountains up by 07 mm (1/4 of an inch) per year. The KKH runs through the middle of this collision belt where there is an average of one Earth Quake every 03 minutes. The Indus River separates the Himalayas from the Karakorams and the KKH hugs the banks of the Indus for 310 Kms on its journey North. It winds round foot of Nanga Parbat 8125 M, the 09th highest in the world & the last in the Himalayan Range & Rakaposhi 7788 M near Nilt in Hunza.    
It leaves the Indus & cuts through the Karakoram Range, with 12 out of the world's 30 highest mountains. At 4733 meters, the Khunjerab Pass is the highest paved border crossing on a surfaced road in the world. The highway was a joint Pakistan-China project. Completed in 1978, it took 20 years to build and employed 15000 Pakistanis & 30,000 Chinese. The Pakistanis concentrated on the road & the Chinese on the bridges.
Also known as the "eight wonder" of the world, this grand highway connects Pakistan to China, twisting through the three mighty ranges of the world, the Karakorams, the Himalayas & the Pamirs - & follows the ancient Silk Route along the Indus, Gilgit & Hunza Rivers up the Chinese border at the Khunjerab Pass where it concludes in the Taklamakan Desert after winding through the Pamirs & Kashgar districts.

Northern Areas of Pakistan, spread over 72,496 sq. km are as fascinating as its southern region. Amidst towering snow-clad peaks with heights varying from 1,000 m to 8,000 meters, the regions of Gilgit, Hunza, Baltistan and Shangri-La. The cultural patterns of these regions are as interesting as its geography. The people with typical costumes, folk dances, music and sports like polo and buzkashi, provide the traveller an unforgettable experience.

Out of 14 over 8,000 meters high peaks on earth, 4 occupy an amphitheater at the head of Baltoro glacier in the Karakoram range in Northern Pakistan. These are; K-2 or Mount Godowin Austin (8,611 m, world's second highest), Gasherbrum-I (8,068 m), Broad Peak (8,047 m) and Gasherbrum-II (8,035 m).

There is yet another which is equally great, Nanga Parbat (8,126 m), located at the western most end of the Himalayas. In addition to these mountains, there are 68 peaks over 7,000 m and hundreds others of over 6,000 meters.

- See more at: http://www.itspakistan.net/pakistan/northern-areas.aspx#sthash.tWgIkxuR.dpuf

Northern Areas of Pakistan, spread over 72,496 sq. km are as fascinating as its southern region. Amidst towering snow-clad peaks with heights varying from 1,000 m to 8,000 meters, the regions of Gilgit, Hunza, Baltistan and Shangri-La. The cultural patterns of these regions are as interesting as its geography. The people with typical costumes, folk dances, music and sports like polo and buzkashi, provide the traveller an unforgettable experience.

Out of 14 over 8,000 meters high peaks on earth, 4 occupy an amphitheater at the head of Baltoro glacier in the Karakoram range in Northern Pakistan. These are; K-2 or Mount Godowin Austin (8,611 m, world's second highest), Gasherbrum-I (8,068 m), Broad Peak (8,047 m) and Gasherbrum-II (8,035 m).

There is yet another which is equally great, Nanga Parbat (8,126 m), located at the western most end of the Himalayas. In addition to these mountains, there are 68 peaks over 7,000 m and hundreds others of over 6,000 meters.

- See more at: http://www.itspakistan.net/pakistan/northern-areas.aspx#sthash.tWgIkxuR.dpuf