The Silk Road was an ancient network of trade routes established during China’s Han Dynasty. It originated from the Chang’an Citadel (present-day Xi’an) and stretched to the Roman Empire.

The Silk Road was an ancient network of trade routes established during China’s Han Dynasty. It originated from the Chang’an Citadel (present-day Xi’an) and stretched to the Roman Empire. Camel caravans had to transport heavy loads from China to other nations by traversing the frigid and treacherous Pamir Mountains and the isolated Karakoram range, which connects Pakistan and Kashgar—an oasis city in Xinjiang, China.

Traveling the Karakoram highway today remains a dangerous challenge. Its location at the height of 4,730 meters above sea level makes it the highest paved international road in the world. This mountain road is sometimes unsafe, full of zigzagging curves and easily affected by flash floods. Flash floods and landslides have claimed thousands of lives on this road.

In order to experience traveling a branch of the Silk Road, I bought a one-way bus ticket from Rawalpindi to Hunza Valley. They do not sell return tickets at the same location because the weather in Karakoram is unpredictable and affects scheduling. The bus departs at 9 pm every day and arrives at Hunza at 6 pm the next day if the weather is good (the road is nearly 700 km). I had to make ten copies of my passport and visa to submit at security posts, as this road belongs to the sometimes unstable Kashmir autonomous area.

As the bus was preparing to depart, a man in civilian clothing used a small camera to take a picture of each passenger’s face. A local friend explained that due to insecurity in the country, drivers or police will keep passengers’ images to ensure their records in case of unexpected events. I started sweating when I saw the driver place a gun beside the steering wheel. It seemed to demonstrate how unsafe the area could be.

The bus ran relatively fast until dawn, then stopped for two hours by a roadside inn to allow the driver to rest. In the morning we got back on the bus to undertake the difficult-to-access Khunjerab stretch of mountain road. It began to rain lightly. Drivers in Kashmir are afraid of heavy rains, as they can cause landslides and block buses. Fortunately, we arrived at Hunza on schedule.

The way back, however, did not go as smoothly. The Karakoram was blocked by hundreds of huge rocks falling down the road. I had to stay in Hunza an additional two days until the snow and rain cleared.