The Land Of Bravery And Hospitality

Pakistan proves to be one of the surprising highlights of the Cape Town to Kathmandu expedition. Escaping the grip of military convoys near the Iran and Afghanistan borders, Kingsley and his team soon discover that the country’s high mountainous regions are the lands of bravery and hospitality.

Rudyard Kipling immortalised one of Pakistan’s landmarks in 1890 with the line “When springtime flushes the desert grass, our kafilas wind through the Khyber Pass”. So up early, we head for the melancholy grandeur of this 56km road that cuts through the rugged Hindu Kush (Hindu: killer) mountains between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

For more than 2 500 years, the Khyber Pass was a vital gateway between Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Vast armies and emperors including the likes of Alexander the Great, Genghis Kahn and Queen Victoria’s British Regiments tried – and mostly failed – to secure the Pass from the feared and fiercely brave local Pathan; these fine, aquiline-faced tribesmen with piercing eyes refused for centuries to be dominated by invading armies. In the 1980s, the Khyber Pass became a major route for guerrilla fighters and refugees leaving or later returning to Afghanistan. Still today, it’s a region where Pathan warlords rule and smuggling is commonplace: everything from electronic goods to AK-47s. We’re told that other attractions include weapons factories and hashish warehouses.

Security is tight from the start, with a strong force of military Land Rovers and hundreds of disciplined, well-armed soldiers stationed every few metres. At Bab-elKhyber, the stone archway that marks the start of the Pass, Shova Mike hops on his bike, hoping to fulfil a lifelong dream of cycling one of the world’s most famous passes. But it’s short-lived: the military react quickly and after only a few kilometres, insist he climb into the back of an army truck. “You are very naughty,” says the colonel in charge. “We cannot protect you on a bike. Look at these tribesmen: do you know how tough and dangerous they are?”