- The Wakhjir Pass lies at the eastern end of the Wakhan Corridor.
- It was the main Pass connecting Afghanistan with China on the Silk Road.
Description
- The Pass has an altitude of 16,151 ft (4,923m). Near the Pass is a cave which is the source of the Wakhjir river, and this river flows into the Amu Darya or river Oxus.
- It lies at the eastern end of the Hindu Kush where they meet the Pamir and Karakoran mountains.
- The Pass is cut-off for five months of the year, and often blocked during the other months.
Chalachigu Valley
- East of the Wakhjir Pass lies the Chalachigu Valley, which is considered by the Chinese to be an extension of the Wakhan Corridor.
- They refer to the Wakhjir Pass as the South Wakhjir Pass, as 10 miles (16km) away there is another Pass into China referred to as the North Wakhjir Pass. There are seven Passes between Afghanistan and China along a 46 mile (74km) border.
- The Passes in the Chalachigu Valley are the Beyik Pass to Tajikistan, the Kilik pass and Mintaka Pass to Pakistan and the Wakhjir Pass and Tigarmansu Pass to Afghanistan.
Tashgurkan Fortress
- Tashgurkan is a Chinese town near the approach to the Chalachigu Valley, where Caravans on the Silk Road stopped and waited for the Wakhjir Pass to open.
- There has been a fortress here for 2,000 years, the current fort, the massive Princess Castle dates from the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368 CE).
Wakhjir Pass