Khunjerab Pass

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Template:Short description Template:Use Pakistani English Template:Use dmy dates

Script error: No such module "infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Template:Chinese Khunjerab Pass (Template:Lang-zh; Template:Langx Template:ErrorTemplate:Category handler; Template:Langx) is a mountain pass on the Karakoram Highway in Pakistani-administered Gilgit-Baltistan bordering Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China. It is a high-altitude mountain pass lying at an elevation of Script error: No such module "convert". above sea level in the Karakoram. It holds a significant strategic position on the northern border of Pakistan, specifically in the Gilgit-Baltistan's Hunza and Nagar districts. Additionally, it is positioned on the southwestern border of China with Pakistan, in the Xinjiang region.

Near Khunjerab Pass, there is another pass known as Template:ILL, which stands at an elevation of Script error: No such module "convert". and is located at approximately Script error: No such module "Coordinates"..

Etymology

The word "خنجراب" in the local Wakhi language means 'waterfall house'. It is derived from two words, "خون"-"Khun" means house and "جراب"-"Jerab" means a creek coming from a spring or a waterfall.

Notability

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File:Lightmatter snowleopard.jpg
The snow leopard, an endangered species, is found in the Khunjerab National Park

The Khunjerab Pass holds several distinctions, including being the highest paved international border crossing globally and serving as the highest point along the Karakoram Highway. The construction of the road across this pass was completed in 1982, and it has since supplanted the previously unpaved Mintaka and Kilik passes as the principal route across the formidable Karakoram Range.

The decision to use the Khunjerab Pass for the Karakoram Highway was made in 1966. China, citing the fact that Mintaka would be more susceptible to air strikes, recommended the steeper Khunjerab Pass instead.[1]

On the Pakistani-administered side, the pass is Script error: No such module "convert". from the National Park station and checkpoint in Dih, Script error: No such module "convert". from the customs and immigration post in Sost, Script error: No such module "convert". from Gilgit, and Script error: No such module "convert". from Islamabad.

On the Chinese side, the pass is the southwest terminus of China National Highway 314 (G314) and is Script error: No such module "convert". from Tashkurgan, Script error: No such module "convert". from Kashgar and Script error: No such module "convert". from Urumqi. The Chinese port of entry is located Script error: No such module "convert". along the road from the pass in Tashkurgan County.

The long, relatively flat pass is often snow-covered[2] during the winter season and as a consequence is generally closed for heavy vehicles from November 30 to May 1 and for all vehicles from December 30 to April 1.[3] This is not set, however; late snowfall in the region attributed to climate change means the road is accessible even during the winter months. Depending on the amount of snowfall, the road is cleared from time periods ranging from days to weeks.

Since June 1, 2006, there has been a daily bus service across the boundary from Gilgit to Kashgar, Xinjiang.[4]

File:A road-sign on way to Khunjerab.jpg
Road sign giving distances to cities in Pakistan

This is one of the international borders where left-hand traffic (Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan) changes to right-hand traffic (China) and vice versa.

Highest ATM in the world

The Pakistani side features the highest ATM in the world, administered by the National Bank of Pakistan and linked to China UnionPay and the domestic 1LINK switch.[5]

Railway

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In 2007, consultants[6] were hired to evaluate the construction of a railway through this pass to connect China with transport in Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan. A feasibility study started in November 2009 for a line connecting Havelian Script error: No such module "convert". away in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Kashgar Script error: No such module "convert". away in Xinjiang.[7] However, no progress has been made thereafter and this project is also not part of the current CPEC plan.

Gallery

See also

References

Citations

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Sources

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  • Curzon, George Nathaniel. 1896. The Pamirs and the Source of the Oxus. Royal Geographical Society, London. Reprint: Elibron Classics Series, Adamant Media Corporation. 2005. Template:ISBN (pbk); Template:ISBN (hbk).
  • King, John 1989. Karakoram Highway : the high road to China. Hawthorn, Victoria, Lonely Planet Publications. Template:ISBN
  • Episode 13/30 of the NHK television series The Silk Road, a series originally shown in Japan in the early 1980s.

External links

Template:Xinjiang topics Template:Mountain passes of China Template:Mountain passes of Pakistan Template:GilgitBaltistan-geo-stub

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