Home > Notebook > Highway to Heaven, Over Karakoram

The biggest Pakistani transport invention is the Karakoram Highway. It cuts through deep valleys of Karakoram, from Islamabad all the way to China. Few hours out of Islamabad the rice paddies disappear to be replaced with mountain desert. But even than – in Hunza Valley for example – you get to see something green. But only thanks to irrigation systems.

The highway follows the rivers, first Indus which reminds of furiously flowing gray concrete, then along Hunza which looks just like soft gray velvet only little bit less furious. Road is not lined with crash barriers, unconsolidated verge, in places two trucks next to each other won't squeeze. Properly potholed. Most of the traffic is buses and trucks, not many cars, lot of jeeps.

The driving is typically Pakistani. Headlights are turned on only when the driver really can't see where they are going and blind overtaking is a constant. Vehicles going in opposite directions dodge in last one or two seconds (for real). They say that drivers on Karakoram Highway are either damn good or dead.