"Between the Central Asian desert and the plains of Pakistan is a geographical vortex that is rich with history, natural beauty and cultural diversity. In this 'collision zone' of the Indian and Asian continents, the Pamir, Kunlun, Hindukush, Karakoram and Great Himalaya ranges are knotted together and China, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India all come within 250km of each other. In the 1960s and 1970s, Pakistan and China jointly cut a road across these mountains, following a branch of the ancient network of trade routes called the Silk Road. In 1986 their mutual border was opened to travellers, completing an Asian 'high road' loop taking in Pakistan, China, Tibet, Nepal and north India. The Karakoram Highway (KKH) connects the Silk Road oasis of Kashgar with Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan's capital, via the 4730m Khunjerab Pass, the semi-mythical Hunza Valley and the trading post of Gilgit."

"Within reach of the KKH is some of the most mind-bending mountain scenery anywhere and, in the Karakoram, the highest concentration of lofty peaks and long glaciers in the world, some virtually at the edge of the road." (from Karakoram Highway by John King) Lonely Planet 1998 ISBN 0 86442 531 7 Also available from Stanfords website (see ORDER above)

THE KARAKORAM HIGHWAY Size flat: 840x620mm Size folded: 242x124mm (Plastic sleeve) Stanfords catalogue no: 93631 Update due: October 2005 Contents: Region map: 1:1000,000 City plans: 1:10,000 & 1:25,000

All town and city plans made from entirely new cycle-surveys carried out on the KKH from 1990 to 1997. The area map is based on a number of surveys, including my own in part, with updated information obtained in 1997 when I travelled almost the whole length of the highway three times over. In total I have travelled the entire length on seven occasions and have been shot at, bombed, stoned (with rocks), bitten by packs of dogs, arrested 14 times and deported once. I have no problem with people downloading these maps (though I would prefer you to buy it) but would ask other publishers to contact me before using them in other publications (more as a courtesy than anything else).