Over the Khunjerab Pass
Trip Start
Nov 14, 2007
1
51
92
Trip End
Apr 20, 2009
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Khunjerab,
China
Monday, July 7, 2008
It was an amazing experience for us. The most amazing part of the pass is how noticable the change is from the Karokoram to the Pamirs within those few seconds of crossing. Before going up the pass we could not have guessed of such a distinctive shift in the landscape, surely from the vantage point of our little bus on the KKH the most we could witness was a subtle ebbing of one range into another? Moutains supplanted by even more mountains?
How wrong we were.
It is an exceptional tranistion. In theory it marks a significant hydrographic and geographical threshold- a jump from one tectonic plate to another. In practice it is genuine revelation, one which I hope the photos do justice too.
The Karokorams (see previous photo's) are ostensibly perpendicular, incredibly dense and intimidating in the extreme. The Pamirs are rounded peaks with gentle buttresses falling to broad valleys- infinitely more benign in appearance.
We are in Tashkurgan now which is a radical departure from the one horse villages of the northern KKH. A few things already standout: We can see women; they are very fashionably dressed; there is a beer and pork; and the roads have verges.
So im off to break my tryst with Halal and take in some sausages and pilsener. Salut!
