Karakoram Highway
Coordinates: 35°36′N 74°39′E / 35.6°N 74.65°E / 35.6; 74.65
N-35 | |
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Karakoram Highway | |
Route information | |
Part of G314 | |
Maintained by NHA, SASAC | |
Length: | 1,300 km (800 mi) |
Existed: | 1966 – present |
History: | Completed in 1979, open to the public since 1986 |
Major junctions | |
North end: | Kashgar, Xinjiang, China |
N-5 N-15 |
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South end: | Hasan Abdal, KP, Pakistan |
Location | |
Major cities: | Hasanabdal, Abbottabad, Thakot, Chilas, Gilgit, Aliabad, Sust, Khunjerab Pass, Kashgar |
Highway system | |
National Highways of Pakistan Motorways of Pakistan |
Karakoram Highway | |||||||
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Chinese name | |||||||
Simplified Chinese | 喀喇昆仑公路 | ||||||
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Urdu name | |||||||
Urdu | شاہراہ قراقرم śāharāha karākaram |
The Karakoram Highway (KKH) is the highest paved international road in the world. It connects China and Pakistan across the Karakoram mountain range, through the Khunjerab Pass, at an elevation of 4,693 m/15,397 ft as confirmed by both SRTM and multiple GPS readings. It connects China's Xinjiang region with Pakistan's Gilgit–Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa regions and also serves as a popular tourist attraction. Due to its high elevation and the difficult conditions in which it was constructed, it is also referred to as the "Eighth Wonder of the World."
The Karakorum Highway is known informally as the KKH, and — within Pakistan — officially as the N-35; within China, officially as China National Highway 314 (G314).
Read more about Karakoram Highway: History, The Highway, Tourism, Weather
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