CPEC Tourism Astor Road

On the Karakoram Highway, between the mountains on the left and right, there are passes

like passes leading to many valleys, but the path leading to Astor Valley is somewhat secret.

The dreaded climb of Bonji was left behind and we entered a scene where the existence of 

the road was lost in miles of wilderness. This rocky desert sloped down to the Indus 

River on our right.

A similar desert plain was visible on the pearly side of the river. But in the vast desert

landscape of this bank, a black line was also visible in the distance, on which a few 

dots were moving in order. This black line was the Karakoram Highway and this dot was

a convoy of trucks. Maybe the truckers also looked at us from there, but we were 

camouflaged on the same color road in such a way that they would not have seen us.

Before the construction of the Karakoram Highway, the route that used to come to Gilgit 

via Kaghan through Darra Babusar is also only a century old. This route was started in

1890 during the British era. Before that, the only way to reach Gilgit used to be the

'Astore Road' on which we were traveling today. This route used to come from Srinagar

and pass through Daras, Kargil, Darra Barzal, Deosai and Astor and cross the Indus 

here at Bunji to reach Gilgit.

On the Karakoram Highway, between the mountains on the left and right, there are gorge-like

paths leading to many valleys, but the path leading to Astor is a little secret. At the 

point where the Astor River joins the Indus River, it opens like a fissure in the mountain

wall. There are mountains behind this rift, so if you stand on the Karakoram highway and

look at this side, you will not see this road, but if you get close, you will see a 

thundering muddy river at the bottom of this rift, joining the Indus River at a 

very high speed. Looks like it's rolling.

#CPEC  #Tourism  #AstorRoad  #IndusRiver  #KarakoramHighway  #Gilgit 

#BritishEra  #February  #2023