Shang-La

The Hindu Kush

Shang-La Pass: road between the valleys of the rivers Swat and Indus in Pakistan's tribal territories.

There is no evidence that Alexander the Great ever visited the Shang-La pass, but on the other hand: this is the shortest route between the Swat valley, where Alexander had captured Massaga, Bazira, and Ora, and the valley of the Indus, where he wanted to take Aornus.

The dusty road, even today unpaved and hardly accessible. (When we reached the top, we learned that only about 40 westerners cross this pass every year. The number of people reaching the summit of Mount Everest is larger.)

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Another bridge across the river. Photo Marco Prins.

A bridge over a tributary of the Indus

The valley of the Shang-La pass may not be very accessible, it is one of the most beautiful parts of Pakistan. You can see the Hindu Kush with glaciers in the northwest and the snow-covered peaks of the Himalaya -which really look like a big wall- in the northeast (third photo of the second row below). You can also see all kind of geographical formations, like the triangle-shaped shapes called "irons" on the first photo of the second row.

The Shang-La area is also very fertile. Every part of it is put to agricultural use. The second photo of the second row below shows terraces. We learned that the inhabitants, who belong to the tribes of Pakistan's Northwest, do not pay taxes, but are requested to work for the government every now and then, for example to make roads.

At the moment of our visit (May 2004), Chinese engineers were trying to improve the pavement. As the final photo shows, that was not an unnecessary job.