The Burzil Pass (el. ) (

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

: درہ برزیل) is a mountain pass in northern

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, and is part of the historic caravan route between the cities of

Srinagar Srinagar (; ) is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary ...

and

Gilgit Gilgit (; Shina language, Shina: ; ) is a city in Pakistani-administered Gilgit-Baltistan, Gilgit–Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kas ...

. The pass lies approximately north of the administrative line between the Pakistani-administered territories of Gilgit−Baltistan and

Azad Jammu and Kashmir Azad Jammu and Kashmir (), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir ( ), is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee: * * * and constituting the western portion of the larger ...

, and some north of the Line of Control (LoC), which serves as the '' de facto'' border between Pakistan and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

in the disputed region of

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

. While the Burzil route ran freely through Jammu and Kashmir during

British rule in India The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

, major sections were largely closed off by Pakistan following the

First Kashmir War First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

, 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 summer. The

Astore River Astor River (), in Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan region, is a tributary of the Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayas, Himalayan river of South Asia, South and Central Asia. The river rises in mou ...

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

Skardu Skardu (, Tibetan script: སྐར་མདོ, ) is a city located in Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kas ...

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

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. 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 language, Kashmiri, is one of the largest fresh water, freshwater lakes in the Indian subcontinent. It is located near Bandipore, Bandipora town in the Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir ...

and Gurez in the Indian-administered territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

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