The Burzil Pass (el. ) is an ancient mountain pass in northern

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

, and is part of the historic caravan route between the cities of Srinagar and Gilgit. The pass lies approximately north of the administrative line between the Pakistani-administered territories of Gilgit−Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and some north of the Line of Control (LoC), which serves as the ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' border between Pakistan and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in the disputed region of Kashmir. While the Burzil route ran freely through Jammu and Kashmir during

British rule in India The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

, it was largely closed off in major sections by Pakistan following the

First Kashmir War First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

, which saw the division by a ceasefire line of the former princely state and the start of an ongoing territorial conflict over the region. The crest of the pass is wide and covered with lush alpine grass vegetation during the summertime. The

Astore River Astor River ( ur, ), in Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan administrative region, is a tributary of the Indus River and one of the rivers draining the Deosai Plateau, running through Astore Valley. The river originates from western slopes of Burzil Pa ...

originates from the western slopes of the Burzil Pass. It is the oldest-known route connecting Gilgit with

Skardu , nickname = , motto = , image_skyline = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Gilgit Baltistan#Pakistan , pushpin_label_position ...

and Srinagar through the Deosai Plateau. Ancient travellers are believed to have extensively crossed the pass by horse. At the beginning of the 20th century, a hut was built on the crest of the pass, where couriers delivered mail and messages from

to China. The city of Gilgit is located some from Srinagar by road via the Burzil Pass above the northern banks of

Wular Lake Wular Lake (), also known as Wolar () in Kashmiri, is one of the largest fresh water lakes in South Asia. It is located near Bandipora town in Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. The lake basin was formed as a result of te ...

and

Gurez Gurez, or Gurais (''Guráai'' in the local Shina language), is a valley located in the high Himalayas, about from Bandipore and from Srinagar, to the north of the Kashmir valley. At about above sea level, the valley is surrounded by snow-cap ...

in the Indian-administered territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The route from Astore to and through the Burzil Pass passes through the following key points: Gorikot, Astore River Bridge, Maikaal, Dad Khitran, and Chilam Chowki.

Popular culture

*American naturalist and author William Douglas Burden described crossing the Burzil Pass in the chapter "Savage Abadabur" of his book, ''Look to the Wilderness''.

References

Mountain passes of the Himalayas Mountain passes of Gilgit-Baltistan {{GilgitBaltistan-geo-stub