Babusar Pass or Babusar Top (el. 4173 m. /13,691 ft.) is a mountain pass at the north of the 150 km. (93 miles) long Kaghan Valley connecting it with the Astore Valley. It is the highest point in Kaghan Valley.

The Kaghan Valley is at its best during summer (months ranging from May to September). In May the maximum temperature is 11 C (52 F) and the minimum temperature is 3 C (37 F). From the middle of July up to the end of September the road beyond Naran is open right up to Babusar Pass.
However, movement is restricted during the monsoon and winter seasons. The Kaghan area can reached by road via the towns of Balakot, Abbottabad and Mansehra.

Bolan Pass is a mountain pass through the Toba Kakar Range of mountains in western Pakistan, 120 kilometers from the Afghanistan border.

Strategically located, traders, invaders, and nomadic tribes have also used it as a gateway to and from the South Asia.

The British took the threat of a Russian invasion of South Asia via the Khyber and Bolan Passes very seriously so in 1837, a British envoy was sent to Kabul to gain support of the Emir, Dost Mohammed. In February of 1839, the British Army under Sir John Keane took 12,000 men through the Bolan Pass and entered Kandahar, which the Afghan Princes had abandoned; from there they would go on to attack and overthrow Ghazni.

Traditionally, the Brahui of the Kurd tribe are in charge of the law and order situation through the Pass area. This tribe is still living in present day Balochistan in Pakistan.

In 1879 at the close of the Second Afghan War, the Treaty of Gandamak, the Bolan Pass was brought under British control; this was when the Sind-Pishin Railway was built by the British across the pass between Kandahar and Quetta.

The Bolan Pass is an important pass on the Baluch frontier, connecting Jacobabad and Sibi with Quetta, which has always occupied an important place in the history of British campaigns in Afghanistan. Since the treaty of Gandamak, which was signed at the close of the first phase of the Afghan War in 1879, the Bolan route has been brought directly under British control, and it was selected for the first alignment of the Sind-Pishin railway from the plains to the plateau. From Sibi the line runs southwest, skirting the hills to Rindli, and originally followed the course of the Bolan stream to its head on the plateau. The destructive action of floods, however, led to the abandonment of this alignment, and the railway now follows the Mashkaf valley (which debouches into the plains close to Sibi), and is carried from near the head of the Mashkaf to a junction with the Bolan at Mach. An alternative route from Sibi to Quetta was found in the Harnai valley to the N.E. of Sibi, the line starting in exactly the opposite direction to that of the Bolan and entering the hills at Nari. The Harnai route, although longer, is the one adopted for all ordinary traffic, the Bolan loop being reserved for emergencies. At the Khundilani gorge of the Bolan route conglomerate cliffs enclose the valley rising to a height of Boo ft., and at Sir-i-Bolan the passage between the limestone rocks hardly admits of three persons riding abreast. The temperature of the pass in summer is very high, whereas in winter, near its head, the cold is extreme, and the ice-cold wind rushing down the narrow outlet becomes destructive to life. Since 1877, when the Quetta agency was founded, the freedom of the pass from plundering bands of Baluch marauders (chiefly Marris) had been secured by the British Indian Army.

Broghol, also spelled Boroghil and several other ways, (el. 3798 m. /12,460 ft.) is a high mountain pass that crosses the Pamir Mountains and connects the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan with Chitral in Pakistan.

Broghol is a relatively low pass. It was closed for about three months each winter because of snow, but for much of the rest of the year it was passable even for cart traffic.

It is one of the four major mountain passes entering Chitral; the others are the Dorah Pass from Badakshan in Afghanistan, Shandur Top from Gilgit, and Lowari Top from Dir in Pakistan. The area of Broghol is inhabited by Wakhi and Kyrgyz people.

According to the National Geographic Genographic Project, Broghol Pass appears to be the route used by the ancestors of all modern Western Europeans to reach Europe. Modern Europeans carrying the M45 genetic marker crossed Broghol and then turned west; M45 further mutated to become M173 and then M343, which is carried by 70% of the population of England.

Historical significance
As a low pass, Broghol has been often proposed but seldom used as an invasion route. During the 19th Century, the British greatly feared that the Russians would use Broghol to invade the heartland of British India.
However, the Russians never did that, probably because after crossing Broghol they would have had to walk more than 200 miles down to Jalalabad or else would have had to cross another equally high pass to reach Ishkoman.

It is possible that Marco Polo crossed the Broghol Pass to reach China.

In popular culture

• The 1985 comedy movie Spies Like Us depicts Dan Aykroyd crossing the Broghol Pass on a mountain yak.

Chaprot Pass or Daintar Pass is a mountain pass to the northeast of Mehrbani Peak (5639) in the northwest of Chaprot.

Dorah Pass, also spelled and pronounced Durah Pass, connects Badakshan in Afghanistan with Chitral in Pakistan. The Dorah Pass is more than 14,000 feet high. It crosses the Hindu Kush. It became important during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan because the Soviets were unable to stop the flow of arms and men back and forth across the pass. Almost the entire Munji-speaking population of Afghanistan fled across the border to Chitral during the War in Afghanistan.

Pamir is a high plateau sometimes called "The roof of the world" that joins Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, China and India. Marco Polo is believed to have crossed the Pamir Mountains on his way to China.

The Dorah Pass is one of the four major mountain passes that enter Chitral. The others are the Broghol Pass from the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan, Shandur Top from Gilgit, and Lowari Top from Dir in Pakistan.


Gumal Pass or Gomal Pass is a mountain pass on the border of Afghanistan and the southeastern portion of the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan. It takes its name from the Gomal River. It is midway between Khyber Pass and Bolan Pass.


Hayal Pass (el. 4600 m.) is a high mountain pass to the north of Shani Peak in Naltar Valley. The pass lies in the west of Naltar Pass.

Hispar Pass (or Hispar La) (el. 5128 m./16,824 ft.) is a high-altitude, non-technical mountain pass in the Karakoram Range in Pakistan.

At the pass, the Biafo Glacier (63 km. long) and Hispar Glacier (49 km long) meet to form the world's longest glacial traverse outside of the Polar Regions, 100 kilometers in length.

Karakar Pass (el. 1336 m./4384 ft.) is a mountain pass in the Hindu Kush in Pakistan.

From the top of the pass, one can view Buner Valley. It was at this pass that the Emperor Akbar lost most of his 8000-man army in an abortive attempt to invade Swat in 1586.

The 45 km-long road from Pir Baba (RA) to Barikot passes through Mount Ilam rising through mature pine forests to Karakar Pass.

Khunjerab Pass (el. 4693 m./15,397 ft.) is a high mountain pass on the northern border of Pakistan with the People's Republic of China. The name comes from the Wakhi for Blood Valley.

It is the highest paved border crossing in the world. It is also the highest point on the Karakoram Highway. This section of the road was completed in 1982.

The long flat pass is often snow-covered during the winter season and is closed from October 15 to May 1. There is excellent grazing on the Chinese side of the pass, and domesticated yaks and dzu (a cross between yaks and cows) may be seen from the road. On the Pakistani side, the highway travels about 50 km across the extensive Khunjerab National Park before reaching the security outpost of Dih. From there, it is another 35 km to the customs and immigration post at Sust. In March 2006, the respective governments announced that, commencing on June 1, 2006, daily bus service would begin across the boundary from Gilgit, Pakistan to Kashghar, the People's Republic of China and road widening work would begin on 600 kilometers of the highway.

Kilik Pass (el. 4827 m./15,837 ft.) 37° 05 N; 74° 41' E), 30 km to the west of Mintaka Pass is a high mountain pass in Pakistan. The two passes were, in ancient times, the two main access points into the Upper Hunza Valley from the north.

This was the shortest and quickest way into northern India from the Tarim Basin, and one that was usually open all year, but was extremely dangerous and only suited for travellers on foot. From Tashkurgan one traveled just over 70 km south to the junction of the Minteke River. Heading some 80 km west up this valley one reached the Mintaka Pass, (and 30 km further, the alternative Kilik Pass), which both led into upper Hunza from where one could travel over the infamous rafiqs or "hanging passages" to Gilgit and on, either to Kashmir, or to the Gandharan plains.

Laden animals could be taken over the Mintaka and Kilik passes into upper Hunza (both open all year), but then loads would have to be carried by coolie (porters) to Gilgit (an expensive and dangerous operation). From there, cargoes could be reloaded onto pack animals again and taken either east to Kashmir and then on to Taxila (a long route), or west to Chitral which provided relatively easy access to either Jalalabad, or Peshawar via Swat.

The Mintaka pass was the main one used in ancient times until the fairly recent advance of glacier ice has forced people in recent times to use the so-called "New Mustagh Pass" (5,800 m or 19,029 ft), about 16 km further west; but this is also heavily glaciated and very difficult.

The new Karakoram Highway heads further south, and then west over the Khunjerab Pass (4,934 m or 16,188 ft; 36° 51' N; 75° 32' E).

Kohat Pass is a mountain pass in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan, connecting Kohat with Peshawar, crossing the Khigana Mountains.

As the current road to the pass is steep and too narrow for large vehicles, Kohat Tunnel is under construction.

The Khyber Pass (also called the Khaiber Pass or Khaybar Pass) (el. 1070 m.) is the most important mountain pass connecting Pakistan with Afghanistan.

Throughout history it has been an important trade route between Central Asia and South Asia and a strategic military location. The pass summit is 5 km inside Pakistan at Landi Kotal. The pass cuts through the Safed Koh mountains which are a far southeastern extension of the Hindu Kush range.

Geography
Going northwest from the eastern end in Pakistan, the route across the pass starts from near Jamrud (15 km west of Peshawar) and ends west of Torkham, Afghanistan, a winding road of 48 km. The route passes Fort Maude and Ali Masjid to reach the narrowest point of the pass, just 15 m wide. The summit is at Landi Kotal, followed by a steep decline to Michni Kandao, Landi Khana and the Afghan border just east of Torkham. Here the gradient becomes easier as the pass exits at Haft Chah onto the Dakka plain. From Dakka, the Kabul River flows back to Peshawar through the Loe Shilman Gorge, a less direct and more difficult route, but the one chosen by Alexander the Great when he crossed over into South Asia in 326 BC in an attempt to invade the Indus Valley.

Jamrud is at an elevation of 491 m (1611 feet), while the summit at Landi Kotal is 1070 m. (3509 ft.). The current street/road/highway was built by the British through the Pass in 1879 and the railway from Jamrud to Landi Khana was completed, by Victor Bayley. FICE, in 1925. The Kyber pass is the pass through the Zagnos moutains.

History
In some versions of the Aryan migration theory, the Indo-Aryans migrated to India via the Khyber Pass. Recorded invasions through the Khyber Pass begin with the conquests of Alexander the Great, and also include several later Muslim invasions of South Asia, culminating with the establishment of the Mughul Empire from 1526. Going the other way, the British invaded Afghanistan through the Pass and fought three Afghan Wars in 1839-42, 1878-80, and 1919.

To the north of the Khyber Pass lies the country of the Mullagori Afridis. To the south is Afridi Tirah, while the inhabitants of villages in the Pass itself are Afridi clansmen. Throughout the centuries the Pashtun clans, particularly the Afridis and the Afghan Shinwaris, have regarded the Pass as their own preserve and have levied a toll on travellers for safe conduct. Since this form of extortion has always been their main source of income, they are naturally disturbed when anyone comes along to interfere with it. Hence their dislike of invading armies and penetrations, and other exercises of authority, even though some armies have been prepared to pay the blackmail, in the form of allowances. Resistance from the local tribesmen has always been fierce.
George Molesworth, a member of the British force of 1919, summarised it well. "Every stone in the Khaibar has been soaked in blood."

Rudyard Kipling called it "a sword cut through the mountains."

It became widely known to thousands of Westerners and Japanese who traveled it in the days of the Hippie trail. Taking a public or private bus or car from Kabul or the Afghan border, on the Pakistani side people were advised not to wander away from the road. A quick daylight passage was then made. Monuments left by British Army units, as well as hillside forts, could be viewed from the highway.

The area of the Khyber Pass has been connected with a counterfeit arms industry, making AK-47's and Martini-Henry rifles, among others including pistols and sub machine guns using local steel and blacksmiths' forges.

Trivia

• The Khyber Pass was the alleged setting of the 1968 comedy film Carry On up the Khyber. The Khyber Pass scenes were actually shot in Snowdonia, Wales.
• It is the nickname of a narrow passage in London's King's Cross St. Pancras tube station.
• A steep, narrow close (lane) in Stromness, Orkney goes by the name Khyber Pass.
• There is a Khyber Pass Rd in Auckland, New Zealand.
• There is a Pink Floyd song called Up the Khyber on the album More.
• There is a Ministry song called 'Khyber Pass' on the album Rio Grande Blood.
• In the movie, "The Man Who Would Be King", directed by John Huston and starring Sean Connery and Michael Caine, the protagonists make a journey through the Khyber Pass in which they must fool a British military guard who knows them.
• Khyber Pass is referenced in the song "Life is a Highway" by Tom Cochrane.
• There is a restaurant in South Kensington, London, UK named Khyber Pass.
• Khyber Pass is the name of a rapid on the Futaleufu River in Chile

Lowari Pass (or Lowari Top) (el. 10,230 ft.) is a high mountain pass that connects Chitral with Dir in Northern Areas, Pakistan. Lowari Top is a relatively low pass, by far the lowest pass to enter Chitral, the rest all being 12,000 to 15,000 feet.

Lowari Top is closed by snow from late November to late May every year. During this time, jeeps cannot cross so men must travel by foot. This is dangerous, as there are high mountains on each side of Lowari Top, and a deadly avalanche can come at any moment without warning.

Every winter a few men are killed by avalanche while crossing Lowari Top. Their bodies are buried under the snow and it is only when the summer comes and the snow melts that their bodies are found and their fate learned.

Nevertheless, Lowari Top remains popular because it is the shortest route from Chitral to Peshawar. The other way would be down the Kunar River to Jalalabad through hostile Afghan Territory or the much longer route across Shandur Top to Gilgit.

Lowari Top crosses the Hindu Raj Mountains, a spur of the higher Hindu Kush. On the Chitral side of Lowari Top are the people of Ashret, who speak the Phalura language and were assigned by the Mitar of Chitral to be the guardians of Lowari Top.

On the Dir side reside Gujjars, some of whom make their living as porters carrying loads across Lowari Top.

In 1954, the King of Chitral was killed when his airplane crashed into Lowari Top. Even today, PIA pilots often turn back because of winds and fear of crossing Lowari Top.

The word "Top" is interesting. It is believed not to be the English word "top" but to be a word from an ancient language no longer spoken there.

The Lowari Top is one of the four major mountain passes to enter Chitral. The others are the Dorah Pass from Badakshan in Afghanistan, Shandur Top from Gilgit, and Broghol from the Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan.

There are constant proposals to dig a tunnel or a ditch through the Lowari Pass. An attempt was made to dig a tunnel under the Lowari Pass in 1980 but was abandoned after only a few hundred feet. The current President of Pakistan recently announced a new plan to build the Lowari Tunnel.

According to recent developments a Korean company has started work on the tunnel. Work is going quite fast and equipment is being brought in by heavy lift helicoptors. According to the manager of the project it will take around 4 years to complete and open for the public.

Work on the Rs8 billion lowari tunnel project was launched in 2005 and it will be completed in three years. The contract has been given to Korean Sambu Company.

Mintaka Pass (also known as Minteke Pass) (el. 4709 m./15,450 ft.) 37° 01' N; 74° 50' E) or the nearby Kilik Pass (4,827 m or 15,837 ft high; 37° 05 N; 74° 41' E), 30 km to the west, were, in ancient times, the two main access points into the Upper Hunza Valley from the north.

These were the shortest and quickest ways into northern India from the Tarim Basin, and were usually open all year, but was extremely dangerous and only suited for travellers on foot. From Tashkurgan one travelled just over 70 km south to the junction of the Minteke River. Heading some 80 km west up this valley one reached the Mintaka Pass, (and 30 km further, the alternative Kilik Pass), which both led into upper Hunza, from where one could travel over the infamous rafiqs or "hanging passages" to Gilgit and, from there, on to either to Kashmir, or the Gandharan plains.

Laden animals could be taken over the Mintaka and Kilik passes into upper Hunza (both open all year), but then loads would have to be carried by coolie (porters) to Gilgit (an expensive and dangerous operation). From there, cargoes could be reloaded onto pack animals again and taken either east to Kashmir and then on to Taxila (a long route), or west to Chitral which provided relatively easy access to either Jalalabad, or Peshawar via Swat.

The Mintaka pass was the main one used in ancient times until the fairly recent advance of glacier ice forced people to use the so-called "New Mustagh Pass" (5,800 m or 19,029 ft), about 16 km further west; but this is also heavily glaciated and very difficult.a

The new Karakoram Highway heads further south, and then west over the Khunjerab Pass (4,934 m or 16,188 ft; 36° 51' N; 75° 32' E).

Naltar Pass is a mountain pass to the north of Shani Peak in Naltar Valley in Pakistan. The pass lies west of Chaprot Pass and east of Hayal Pass.

Shandur Top (el. 12,200 ft.) is a high mountain pass that connects Chitral to Gilgit in Pakistan.

The top is flat, a plateau and can be crossed between late april and early november. The grade is very gradual, and the area is extremely beautiful, crossed by small streams full of trout.

Every year there is a polo match played on Shandur Top between a team from Chitral and a team from Gilgit.

Shandur Top is one of the four major mountain passes to enter Chitral. The others are Dorah Pass from Badakshan in Afghanistan, Lowari Pass from Dir, and Broghol from the Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan.

The people who live on both sides of Shandur Top speak the Khowar language.