The Karakoram Highway was completed in 1978, inaugurated in 1982 but not fully open to foreigners until 1986. For the bold beauty of the mountains it winds through and the breathtaking views it offers the Karakoram Highway has few equals. It passes within earshot of great 25,000 foot peaks like Nanga Parbat and Rakaposhi. Along the entire length of the highway, but especially around Chilas, there are Buddhist rock carvings.
Travel on the Karakoram Highway is not for the weak hearted. The mostly two-lane road hugs mountainsides and features it share of hairpin turns and stream crossings. Avalanches and landslides crackle in the distance. Landslides of rocks and scree periodically bury trucks and kill people. From time to time buses, trucks and cars form drop off the sides of the cliffs. Some wrecks are visible. There are no shoulders and vehicles sometimes have to skirt within inches of sheer drop-offs into the valleys and rushing rivers below. Some people say "It can take an hour to travel just one mile on the Karakoram, and only a second to depart it.
No comments:
Post a Comment