Mountain Passes

Pakistan is home to some of the highest paved mountain passes on the planet. Khunjerab Pass at 4,693 m marks the border with China and is the highest paved international border crossing in the world. Babusar Pass (4,173 m) links the Kaghan Valley to Chilas on the KKH, while Shandur Pass (3,734 m) — famous as the world's highest polo ground — connects Gilgit-Baltistan to Chitral. Most high passes are accessible from June through October; Babusar typically opens in late May after snowploughs clear the carriageway, and closes again with the first heavy snows of November.

Geologically, Pakistan's passes sit at one of the most dramatic tectonic boundaries on Earth — where the Indian Plate collides with the Eurasian Plate, driving up the Karakoram and Himalayan ranges at a measurable rate each year. The Silk Road caravans that linked Central Asia, China, and the Indian subcontinent relied on these same passes for millennia; traces of that trade — ancient inscriptions, petroglyphs, and caravanserai ruins — still survive at many crossing points. For modern travellers, crossing multiple passes on a single tour offers a compelling blend of geological wonder, living history, and breathtaking high-altitude scenery.