Area Sections
Khyber Pass
Other Definitions
khyber pass (enc)
khyber pass (dict)
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Khyber Pass The Khyber Pass is situated in the Sulaiman Hills which form the western barrier of Pakistan. The hills dip down here, leaving a passage sometimes as broad as 1 ½ kms (1 mile) and sometimes as narrow as 16 metres (42 feet). The Pass begins near Jamrud Fort (18 kms 11 miles) from Peshawar and extends beyond the border of Pakistan at Torkham 58 kms away. At Torkham PTDC has a Motel-cum-Information Centre which is closed at present due to unsettled conditions in Afghanistan. You may travel by road from Peshawar via Jamrud fort which lies amongst low story hills capped with pickets manned by Khyber Rifles. Also on the way you will see Ali Masjid and the fort with insignia of the regiments that have served in the Khyber. On route is also the Sphola stupa of Buddhist period (2-5 centuries A-D) and Landikotal Bazaar until you reach the border post at Torkham. For rail enthusiasts, there is also a Khyber railway. It threads its way through 34 tunnels crossing 92 bridges and culverts and climbing 1,200 metres. The British built it in 1920 at an enormous cost of Rs. Two million. Two or three coaches are pulled and pushed by two 1920 model steam engines. At one point, the track climbs 130 metres in less than a mile by means of the famous Changai Spur, a section of track shaped like a "W" with two reversing stations.
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