Khyber Pass

(CC) Image: George Swan
Kabul, Peshawar, and some cities in Nangarhar, Afghanistan.

The Khyber Pass is mountain pass and a route through the Hindu Kush mountains, near the boundary between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Throughout history, it has been an important trade route between Central Asia and South Asia. It is also a vulnerable point militarily, being the mountain pass used by Alexander the Great to invade India and for the movement of military forces led by Genghis Khan of Mongolia, Darius I of Persia, and many others.

One of the few paved roads in Afghanistan travels through the pass, from the national capital, Kabul, through Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar Province, and one of Afghanistan's largest cities, to the border with Pakistan, at Towr Kham. The road then continues to Peshawar, Pakistan.