The Karakoram Highway - from China to Pakistan

The Karakoram Highway (KKH) runs from Kashgar in Western China to Islamabad in Pakistan, and isn't so much a highway as a 'high road'. It took a stunning 20 years to finish the road, and even today it continues to suffer from extreme weather and environmental disasters.

The KKH runs through the highest concentration of soaring mountain peaks and raging rivers in the world, and is generally considered to be among the most spectacular areas on our planet. Traveling here isn't for the faint hearted, although transportation has improved significantly in the past decades.

In October 2010 I had the chance to travel the Karakoram Highway. Although Pakistan had suffered its worst floods in recent history the same year, most parts of the road were still intact. Nevertheless, traveling the road proved a massive challenge and also a great adventure. As these events had scared off many tourists and travelers, I found myself among locals for nearly all of the time.

(Other than royalty free audio, I also used a short part of the following song: Bharat Humko Jaan Se Pyara Hai - by Penn Penn Masala)

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Karakoram
• Highway
• KKH
• China
• Pakistan
• travel
• traveling
• Chinese
• adventure
• tourist
• attraction
• Khunjerab
• pass
• tourism
• Himalaya
• documentary
• hunza
• road
• 2010
• floods
• disaster
• weather
• aid
• relief
• destination
• nature
• culture
• mountains
• Baltistan
• Islamabad
• Kashgar
• transport
• trucks

[tushardesai]

Beautiful video. But can't believe you actually used part of the song titled "Bharat Humko Jaan Se Pyara Hai". Do you know what the title means?

[stefhoffer]

@tushardesai Thanks for the comment, actually I didn't know, and after searching on Google I only have a vague idea. It has something to do with India and patriotism? At least you don't hear them sing in the video!

[usaa47]

@stefhoffer and which camera u used?

[stefhoffer]

@usaa47 Thanks! I used a Sony HDR (compact HD camera) on this trip, and I live in the Netherlands. How about yourself?

[ymhktravel]

Your decision to fly instead of going on the road during your last leg of the journey was a great one. Because it offers you a fantastic paranoramic view of the snow mountain ranges from above complete with cloud seas. But was it a decision made based on what you know you would see from above or just a last-minute but nonetheless well-made decision?

[stefhoffer]

@ymhktravel Both actually! The problematic situation South of Hunza at the time made road travel very difficult. At the same time, I had heard about the spectacular views on the Skardu-Islamabad flight, and I wasn't disappointed. Stunningly beautiful area!

[gearsau]

Well done....Interesting  video,and well edited.

[nomanomi98]

Pak-China friendship Zindabad

[ThePayola123]

Very Beautiful Scenery!

Thanks for Posting.

[rohittripathy]

A very impressive video. Your camera work is phenomenal. Which Sony HD compact model did you use ?

[yassertariqvideo]

Wonderful.

[pornocchio07]

Where's the guy doing this video from? Sounds like a Pakistani who lives abroad from his accent. He's got this strange way of pronouncing the names of those places; I guess the way the locals would pronounce!

Anyway, it's a nice video.

[kalahari1955]

sensationell, i want to do this this summer, did you go alone or with travel buddies?

[khushboosamana39]

It's inadequette. On one hand, it's good to see Pakistan from your perspective. I'm so used to the norms here that I take them for granted, to see your fascination over them (tandur, trucks etc) is refreshing. but on the other hand, you did not know where to look for North's unique beauty (although there are travel guides and booklets available). So overall, it was lacking.

[zaidumer]

I wanna go to China Through this way.

[TheMuzammilShah]

Thanx stefhoffer for this..nice effort

[Peace0099]

1 DISLIKER WILL BE INDIAN,,,,,THUMBS UP IF U AGREE....:):)