The Karakoram Highway (known informally as NH-35 or KKH) which links China and Pakistan at the Khunjerab Pass, is one of the most dangerous and scariest roads in the World.
The highway is often referred to as the “Eighth Wonder of the World".
It is also the highest paved international road on the planet.
The two-way road also known as China-Pakistan Friendship Highway is 1.300km (810 mi) long (Pakistan: 887 km (551 mi) and China: 413 km (257 mi), running through Kashmir from Hassan Abdal, a small town near Rawalpindi and Islamabad, to Kashgar in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
It takes about 14 hours from the capital Islamabad to reach Gilgit-Baltistan, where the Karakoram highway passes through high mountainous points.
Khunjerab Pass in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan, a high mountain pass at an elevation of 4.693m (15,397ft) above sea level, open only between 1 May and 31 December due to heavy snow.
Besides the risk of slippery roads and snowfall, there is a constant threat of landslides and falling rocks.
In recent years the highway has become an adventure tourism destination because of its picturesque location and high-risk factor.
Hundreds of deadly accidents occur every year on this dangerous road that is only navigated by expert drivers.
KKH, the construction of which started in 1959, was opened to the public in 1978.
It was built on the path of the original Silk Route by the governments of Pakistan and China in a gargantuan effort that took almost 20 years. It reportedly claimed the lives of 810 Pakistani workers and 200 Chinese workers during construction.
