Khunjerab

Perched at 4,693 metres above sea level, Khunjerab Pass marks the highest paved international border crossing in the world, where Pakistan meets China atop the Karakoram Range. The name means "Valley of Blood" in the local Wakhi language — a reminder of the treacherous conditions that once made this one of the most feared sections of the ancient Silk Road. Today the Karakoram Highway winds up to the pass through a high-altitude plateau of cold desert and tundra, where rare Marco Polo sheep graze alongside Tibetan wolves and snow leopards. The plateau's stark beauty — ochre grasslands, glacial streams, and jagged snow-capped peaks stretching to the horizon — is unlike anything else in Pakistan. The Khunjerab National Park surrounding the pass is one of Pakistan's largest protected areas. Temperatures can drop sharply even in summer, and the pass is typically closed from November to April due to heavy snowfall.Read more