The Karakoram Highway is the highest paved road on earth. This mountainous stretch of highway runs between western China and Pakistan, and it’s one of the very few routes that crosses through the Himalayas.
Our journey begins in Kashgar, a city in the far west of China’s XinJiang Province. From here, we’ll take a van as far as we can, all the way to the border of China and Pakistan. The natural scenery here is stunningly beautiful.
Our first stop is at White Sand Lake. Dry desert hills and a massive body of water contrast with each other, making this lake a stunning sight to behold. Here, a few Kyrgyz families live in small houses along the lake and peddle precious stones to the occasional visitor.
Only 30 kilometers further and we’ve reached Karakul Lake. Crystal clear water, snow-capped mountains and roaming camels are a part of everyday life here. Sitting at 12,000 feet above sea level, the scenery here is literally breathtaking. Even while resting, I find myself gasping for air.
Top Comments:
- Wonderful China. Magnificent Pakistan. Beautiful Earth.
- Incredible!! Never know this place before! Thanks Kev!!
- Pakistan side is real beautiful and real adventure. You gonna love that road and place. Plan and let me host you guys there 🙂
- Great work as always, Kevin Cook. Karakul Lake was one of my favorite memories along the Karakoram Highway.
- Breathtaking views that i want to see for myself, and I want to do a silk route some time from Xian to the China-pakistan border. I had recently come back from a trip to Jiuzhaigou National park and Huanglong, both UNESCO world heritage sites on the northern tip of southwestern Sichuan province. It’s the province that is also home to the iconic panda. The parks are breathtakingly beautiful, esp so near end Oct in autumn. I recommend these places to you, the only problem with popular sceniic spots in China is that you also have to contend with the huge domestic tourists and that can take away much of the experience. Generally, the farther west (the part which you have been or the Pamirs) or north (eg. North pole village in heilongjiang) you go in massive and heavily populated China, the fewer intl tourists and local travellers you see. Still those 2 places I mentioned earlier are highly recommended, crowds notwithstanding, if you intend to visit China again.
- This was truly breath-taking! The narration was awesome and sounded really professional, not a lot of people can do that!
- Excellent video! I wish there was peace in that region. There is so much to see and visit but violence or threat of violence prevents people from going there.
- Went by the Karakul lake driving through Tajikistan. Awesome scenery, but plenty of gnats and mosquitos!
- long live pak China friendship
- My friend and I am going. Start/finish in Islamabad. So excited.
Leave a Reply