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  • Karakoram Highway, Pakistan and China
    Karakoram Highway, Pakistan and China

    Whether you are desperately revving your car’s engine to clear a narrow pass or grinding through an endless expanse of sand in a 4X4, these five roads have gained a reputation for being among the most brutal in the world. A centuries-old trading trail that once formed part of the famed Silk Road, the Karakoram Highway is the world’s highest altitude paved international road. Its 1,200km slice through the mighty Karakoram Range, from Abbottabad in Pakistan to Kashgar in China, passing through some of the world’s most remarkable mountain scenery and providing access to top-notch trekking and mountaineering. (Lindsay Brown/LPI/Getty)

Karakoram Highway, Pakistan and China

Whether you are desperately revving your car’s engine to clear a narrow pass or grinding through an endless expanse of sand in a 4X4, these five roads have gained a reputation for being among the most brutal in the world. A centuries-old trading trail that once formed part of the famed Silk Road, the Karakoram Highway is the world’s highest altitude paved international road. Its 1,200km slice through the mighty Karakoram Range, from Abbottabad in Pakistan to Kashgar in China, passing through some of the world’s most remarkable mountain scenery and providing access to top-notch trekking and mountaineering. (Lindsay Brown/LPI/Getty)

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