Tour operator in Afghanistan – Re:Discover Pakistan

The Khyber Pass is located between Peshawar and the border with Afghanistan. Since ancient times, it has been an important pass on the trade route between the Central Asian and Indian cultural regions. The mountain where the pass is located is called Spin Ghar (in the Pashto language) and was crossed by Alexander the Great’s army in the 4th century B.C., as well as by Xuanzang in the 7th century. During the Mughal period, it developed as part of the Grand Trunk Road, the main road from Agra, India to Kabul, Afghanistan. In modern times, it was a battlefield in the Afghan War during the British colonial period. After independence, it became an autonomous region of the Pashto tribe called the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), but that system was abolished in 2018. Foreigners visiting the area must have prior permission and be accompanied by security. When tourists talk about going to the Khyber Pass, it generally means visiting the area from the Khyber gate to the Michini check post.

Bab-e-Khyber and Jamrud Fort

This monumental gate was built in 1963 and is located 18 km from the center of Peshawar city. There is a small park next to the gate where the history of the Khyber Pass is inscribed on a stone tablet. Khyber Gate also appears on the Pakistani 10-rupee bill.

Just past the Khyber Gate, on the right, is Jamrud Fort. It was built by the Sikhs in 1823 on top of an old fort. General Hari Singh Nalwa, a hero of the Sikhs, was killed and buried at Jamrud Fort while fighting Afghans. The fort is manned by the Pakistani army and entry is not allowed.

A camel milk vendor from Punjab walking through Khyber Gate

Until 2007, there was a large Afghan refugee camp (Kacha Garhi refugee camp) near the Khyber gate; many refugees came and went through this gate from the Soviet invasion in 1979 until the end of the Afghanistan war.

Khyber Pass Viewpoint

The photo of the Khyber Pass shown in the guidebook features a view looking back toward Peshawar from the road on the way to the border. The road is now newly widened and is lined with transport trucks coming and going from the border, but it must have once provided a dramatic sight of the Gandhara Plain spread out in front of the caravans coming from Afghanistan.

Shagai Fort

The fortress was built by the British in the 1920s to monitor the Khyber Pass route. It is currently manned and monitored by the Pakistani Army. On the other side of the fort there is a new monument and a lookout tower.

Ali Masjid

This is the narrowest part of the Khyber Pass road, flanked by mountains on both sides. It was originally so narrow that two loaded camels could just barely pass each other. Because of its strategic importance, it was the site of fierce battles in past wars. The road has been gradually widened, but even today, the lanes are separated, with the lane heading toward Peshawar being built on a cliff.

The small Ali Masjid (a mosque), as well as a madrasa can be found along the road. The Ali Masjid Fort, where the Pakistani army is stationed, is located on top of the hill.

The Ali Masjid mosque along the road. A larger mosque is currently under construction.

Ali Masjid Fort overlooking the narrow road

Palatial Residence (Fort) of Ayub Afridi

Ayub Afridi is a well-known drug lord and tribal politician, known for the many interesting stories about his contacts with the United States, among other topics. Along the road is a wall of mansions with more than 100 rooms.

Sphola Stupa

The stupa dates back to the 2nd-3rd century Kushan period and is built on a three-tiered platform. Excavations in the early 20th century unearthed a Buddha statue, and as of 2024, the base of the temple is being restored. It is the only Gandhara Buddhist site in the Khyber Pass area.

Emblem of the Military Corps

The troops of various time periods who passed through the area carved their military emblems into the rock face as a commemoration of their passage.

Khyber Railway

There was a time when a steam locomotive operated once a month for tourists between Peshawar and Landi Kotal. The Khyber railway has a long history, having opened in 1926 during British rule era for the purpose of transporting military supplies. The railway runs from Peshawar to Landi Kotal, a distance of 40 km with a height difference of 600 m, crossing 34 tunnels and 92 railway bridges.

The area was devastated by heavy rains and flooding in 2006, and there is absolutely no hope of restoration. Currently, only the remains of damaged tracks, tunnels, steel bridges, and stations can be seen.

A preserved steam locomotive in Peshawar

Landi Kotal

The last town on the Pakistani side is Landi Kotal. Stores are spread out over an even lower level of the town’s main street. It was once known for its smuggled goods bazaar which dealt in arms and drugs. Today, there is still a vibrant market.

Landi Kotal people cheerfully talking to tourists

Michini Check Post

The last point on the Pakistan side that can be visited without an Afghanistan visa is the Michini Check Post, which overlooks the border town of Torkham. The border town of Torkham is 5 km downhill from here. The rocky mountains across the border are numbered from 1 to 3, and the border line between the two countries is the point where these lines are connected.

The Michini Check Post has a viewpoint where tourists can enter. From the viewpoint, there is an old building called the Taimoor Fort or Tamerlane Fort, which according to legend was used as a prison during Timur’s invasion of India.

Torkham Border

Approaching the border there is a dry port and an immigration control building. As of 2024, the Torkham border is the only open border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Porters carrying luggage and money changers waiting at the border

Corridor between Pakistan and Afghanistan

The border with Afghanistan is connected by a long corridor, and from there it is 230 km to Kabul, which takes about 6 hours by car.

Photo & Text : Mariko SAWADA

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One of the two World Heritage Sites in Afghanistan, Jam minaret and archaeological remains of Jam in the mountains of Ghor Province, the site is not easily accessible neither from Bamiyan nor Herat, and can only be reached by a long drive on rough roads.

It is called a “minaret and archaeological site,” but it is unclear if it is actually a minaret. There is no mosque (perhaps there was an open-type mosque), and there are many opinions, including that it may be a victory tower built over a pre-Islamic pagan holy site.
It could well be Firozkoh of the legendary city, according to one of hypothesis.

There were three main capitals in Ghurid dynasty, Ghazni, Bamiyan, and Firozkoh. The location of one of those three, Firozkoh, is not known, and it is speculated that the ruins near the minaret may be the site of that capital. Incidentally, Chaghcharan in Ghor Province has recently changed its name to Firozkoh and has become a gateway town for tourists visiting the Minaret of Jam from the Bamiyan side.

Remains of buildings on the rocky hill by the minaret. The watchtower is clearly visible.

The Minaret of Jam was built during the reign of the Ghurid dynasty that ruled from Afghanistan to northwestern India, reaching the peak of its power from 1150 to 1215 and reached its peak during the reign of the 12th century king, Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad (1162-1203) and his brother Mu’ izz ad-Din Muhammad (1203-1206). The dynasty was divided after the death of these brothers, and the capital was destroyed by Genghis Khan’s army in 1221. In 1943, the governor of Herat publicized the site, and finally in 1957, the Afghan Historical Society and the French Archaeological Delegation in Afghanistan visited and “discovered” this valuable site.

The Minaret of Jam is 65 meters high and has three levels.

The site is located at the confluence of two rivers, Harirud and Jam, which has eroded the foundation and tilted the slim tower slightly. The Minaret of Jam is the only remaining structure from the Ghurid dynasty and is very important for understanding Islamic architecture in the medieval period. It was registered as a World Heritage Site (Heritage in Crisis) in 2002.

The Minaret of Jam has three levels, each level separated by a balcony corbel and topped by a circular arcade of six arches.

The first tier up to around 37m is elaborately decorated with molded buff-colored brick reliefs.

The octagonal base of the minaret is 14.5 meters in diameter and 65 meters high, with a tapered tower made of baked bricks. The eight vertical panels corresponding to the octagonal base are superbly done with molded bricks. The rich variety of geometric and plant patterns developed in Bukhara. The most amazing feature is the Arabic Kufi script, in which the entire inscription band of the 19th sura of the Koran (or Qur’an, the holy scripture of Islam), the chapter of Maryam, is represented from one panel to another.

Kufi Arabic, a manifestation of the 19th chapter of the Koran, surrounds the panel and goes on and on and on.Just below the first balcony is a bright Persian blue kufi inscription, the only colored inscription on the surface, declaring the names of the rulers who spearheaded the construction of this minaret. “Ghiyasuddin Mahammad ibn Sam, Sultan Magnificent! King of Kings!” The architect’s name is also inscribed in small letters: “Ali, son of…”.

The name of the founder appear, “Ghiyasuddin Mahammad ibn Sam, Sultan Magnificent! King of Kings!”

The Qutub Minar in Delhi, India, is the world’s tallest minaret (72.5 m) made of bricks, built around 1200 during the Delhi Sultanate, whose founder, Quṭb al-Dīn Aybak, served the Ghurid dynasty. The minaret of Qutub Minar was built under the influence of the minaret of Jam. Conversely, there is a “Ghazni minaret” in Ghazni of Ghazna Dynasty, and the Minaret of Jam was constructed under the influence of this minaret.

Qurub Minar (Delhi), which was inspired by the Minaret of Jam.

Ghazni’s minaret that inspired and influenced the minaret of Jam.

It used to be possible to climb the spiral staircase inside the minaret, but the entrance is now closed, no longer inaccessible.The view of the “Minaret of Jam” at the end of a long and rough journey is breathtaking and full of archeological awe and majectic beauty.

Image & Text : Mariko SAWADA

Reference :”An historical guide to Afghanistan ” Nancy Hatch Dupree

*Contact us, Indus Caravan for more information or to make arrangements for visiting Minaret of Jam and Afghanistan.