Karakar Pass (; el. 1336 m./4384 ft.) is a

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...

in the

Hindu Kush The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central Asia, Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and eastern Afghanistan into northwestern Pakistan and far southeastern Tajikistan. The range forms the wester ...

, connecting

Swat A SWAT (''Special Weapons and Tactics'') team is a generic term for a police tactical unit within the United States, though the term has also been used by other nations. SWAT units are generally trained, equipped, and deployed to res ...

and Buner in

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...

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# ...

. From the top of the pass, one can view Buner Valley. It was at this pass in February 1586 where about 8,000 to 50,000 Mughal soldiers, including their commander-in-chief

Birbal Mahesh Das (; 1528 16 February 1586), popularly known by his title Rajah Birbal (), was an Indian minister and commander of the Mughal Empire. He is mostly known in the Indian subcontinent for the folk tales which focus on his wit. He was app ...

, were killed by the Yusufzai lashkar led by

Kalu Khan Kalu Khan is a village located between Shawwa-Adda and Adina village on the main Mardan–Swabi road in Khyber–Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The people of the area belong to the Mandanr-Yousafzai (Isapzai in Pashto) branch of Afghans throu ...

. This was the greatest disaster faced by the

Mughal Army The army of the Mughal Empire was the force by which the Mughal emperors established their empire in the 16th century and expanded it to its greatest extent at the beginning of the 18th century. Although its origins, like the Mughals themselve ...

during the reign of Akbar I. The 45 km-long road from Pir Baba to Barikot passes through Elum Ghar rising through mature pine forests to Karakar Pass. Fountain in Bunner

References

Mountain passes of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mountain passes of the Hindu Kush {{KhyberPakhtunkhwa-geo-stub

See also

References