The world highest land border
On the way to Kaxgar in China, we followed the Karakoram Highway higher and higher into the mountains toward the Khunjerab Pass, the highest border crossing in the world at 4693 meters, connecting Pakistan with China.
The landscape kept changing along the way: autumn colors, snow-covered peaks, wide valleys, yak herds and never ending mountain views. This whole route felt absolutely incredible.
Of course, we were also a little nervous. We had never driven our Landy to that kind of altitude before and had no idea how both we and the car would handle it.
Starting from our last camp at the majestic Passu Cones we followed the Karakoram Highway.
A few hours in, found a nice spot for a quick lunch and coffee break.
And a moment to take it all in. The last 3.5 month we spent in Pakistan have been amazing but also intense.
It’s time for the yaks. During the summer months, we didn’t see many of them since they stayed high up in the colder valleys.
During our lunch break, we took some time to reflect on everything we experienced here in Pakistan. It honestly didn’t start easy. Coming from Afghanistan, we were dealing with a bacterial infection in our stomachs while still trying to process that intense border crossing from Iran into Afghanistan, where we genuinely thought we might end up in prison because of the drone and walkie-talkies we were carrying. Those gadgets are highly illegal in Iran, especially during times of war.
Then there were the endless police convoys, the extreme heat in Hunza Valley, the flash floods and landslides along the way. At times, it all felt overwhelming we were not sure being in the right place at the right time.
But looking back now, it has been so, so worth it. We wouldn’t want to miss any part of it. The mountains have a healing energy, and reconnecting with old friends while making so many new ones deeply shaped the way we experienced Pakistan.
We had to stop on this wide high-altitude plain at 4300 meters. It was so beautiful!
And first time driving in Snow since we left Turkey last year 🙂
Construction of the Karakoram Highway began in the late 1950s and early 1960s as a joint project between Pakistan and China. It took nearly 20 years to complete because workers had to carve roads directly into cliffs and unstable mountainsides. The highway officially opened in the late 1970s and later became accessible to the public in the 1980s. Thousands of workers were involved, and many lost their lives due to avalanches, landslides, and extreme weather during construction.
Than we made it all the way to the top. On the other side China. So far the most impressive border we’ve seen on our journey.
And the China side. Damn, we made it to China! What was truly weird, they only had a quick look on our passports and than we could continue. The real checkpoint with multiple passport checks, vehicle inspections, luggage scans, and registration processes is still ahead of us.
That was a pretty frustrating first encounter with the Chinese authorities. Nobody really knew what to do, and no one spoke English. The entire security check took at least two hours. We had to scan the car, empty all the boxes, and they searched the vehicle multiple times while asking us questions in Chinese that we couldn’t understand at all. Also the documents we got wehre quite funny :/
Than they installed a GPS tracker in the car, since we still had to drive another three hours to reach the official immigration and customs office. Also the amount of CCTV everywhere was insane! Hello China.
Views on the beautiful Pamir Plateau. Still cruising above 3000 meters.
A vast, open plateau landscape with wide valleys, fewer sharp peaks compared to Pakistan’s Hunza side, and a more “desert-like alpine” feel despite the extreme altitude.
Somehow scary to see even if it’s just a road covered in sand. But another proof that nature always wins.
The land of the Bactrian camels✱
The land of the Bactrian camels✱
The land of the Bactrian camels✱
The land of the Bactrian camels✱
The land of the Bactrian camels✱
The land of the Bactrian camels✱
The land of the Bactrian camels✱
The land of the Bactrian camels✱
This region around Tashkurgan, the Pamir Plateau, and the eastern edge of the Karakoram is one of the few places in the world where camels still feel like a natural part of the scenery rather than something artificial or touristic.
These are not desert camels like we’ve seen them on the Arabian Peninsula. Bactrian camels have two humps and are built for harsh continental climates like freezing winters, strong winds, and dry high-altitude air. Temperatures here can drop far below zero, especially in winter.
In the Tashkurgan region, local communities like the Tajiks and Kyrgyz herders use camels alongside yaks and sheep. They’re used for carrying loads, wool, and sometimes transport in remote areas where vehicles are limited or unreliable. Seeing them here is not random, it’s actually one of the last places along the old Silk Road where camel culture still matches the land.
CCTV, speed radar and police checkpoints
Fake police checkpoints that make you slow down.
We made to Tashkurgan, a small town at 3100 meters altitude on the Pamir Plateau near the borders of Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan. I used to be an important stop along the ancient Silk Road. Traders moving between China, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent passed through this remote valley for centuries.
The level of control was crazy. CCTV cameras are everywhere on streets, intersections, public squares, government buildings, gas stations, and along the highway, police checkpoints appeared regularly, and our passports were checked more times than we could count. Tashkurgan is located in China’s Xinjiang region, which is one of the most heavily monitored areas in the country.
Finally we were allowed to drink beer, CHINESE beer 🙂 Cheers to that!