Following the Ancient Silk Road to Hindu Kush

In a recent article frequent GoNOMAD contributor David Rich explores the Tajikistan Pamirs, a chain of the world’s highest mountains, ending at the Hindu Kush, spatially near to Osama Bin Ladin’s cave hide out, but far from Rich’s worries.
Enjoy the excerpt below:

My quarry was the Hindu Kush, the mighty mountain range famous for killing Hindus throughout the centuries, forming the glacial border spine between Pakistan and Afghanistan, clearly visible across the diminutive twelve mile (20 kilometer) width of Afghanistan from my vantage point in Tajikistan.

For three incredible days I explored ancient Silk Road Forts, Buddhist ruins and a hot spa full of naked Tajik men (truly the most dangerous moment of my mission), in all intervals viewing with awe the incredible killers of Hindus, the mighty peaks in close-by Pakistan and Afghanistan: peaks unnamed on my top-secret map, ranging from 7019 to 7340 and finally 7485 meters, which is many feet, the last totaling 24,557.

Truly this road constitutes the world’s most scenic 300 miles, rivaling and perhaps eclipsing my former nominee: the 300 miles from Gilgit, Pakistan (begin a few miles south at the base of Nanga Parbat, the world’s 9th highest peak) near six of the world’s 14 highest peaks (all those over 8000 meters), through Karimibad and Soss, over the Chinese border through Tashkurgan past Muztagata and Kongur Shan (both over 7500 meters) to Kashgar.