Khyber Pass

Pass through the mountain range that separates Pakistan from Afghanistan; length 53 km/33 mi; width varies from 140 m/460 ft at its widest to about 15 m/50 ft at its narrowest. On either side are rock faces rising to a height of 915 m/3,000 ft in some places. The highest point, at Landi Kotal, is 520 m/1,700 ft higher than the town of Jamrud at the entrance to the pass. The Khyber Pass was used by invaders of India. The present road was constructed by the British during the Afghan Wars (1839–42 and 1878–80).

From Jamrud, to the west of Peshawar, the pass turns northwest through the mountains at the junction of the Safid Kuh with the Sulaiman range and ends near Laipura, on the Kabul River. Since 1925 there has been a railway running through the pass as far as the Afghan frontier. Despite political differences between Pakistan and Afghanistan the Khyber Pass continues to be a vital economic link between Afghanistan and the outside world.