A sign near the foot of Khyber Pass proclaims,
"Anybody who was ever anybody passed this way."
At an altitude of 1070 m, it is the Northern Gateway of Pakistan connecting to Afghanistan.
The famous arched two-pillared gate "Bab-e-Khyber" enhances its grandeur, dignity and beauty.
The history of Khyber Pass as a strategic gateway dates from 326 B.C., when Alexander of the Macedonia marched through the Khyber to as far down south as Multan after defeating Hindu Raja Porus on River Jhelum.
It has a long list of prominent people crossing it like Generals of Alexander the Great, Buddhists of Ashoka's kingdom, Persian, Mongol, and Tartara in the 900 A.D, who forced their way through the Khyber, bringing Islam to India.
In 1398 AD Amir Taimur invaded India through the Khyber Pass and his descendant Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur made use of this pass first in 1505 and then in 1526 to establish a mighty Mughal Empire.
The British constructed a road through the pass in 1879 and converted it into a highway during the 1920s. In 1925, a railway track was built from Peshawar to the present border with Afghanistan. The 40 kilometers of track, with its 34 tunnels and 94 bridges and culverts, is an engineering marvel that even today offers one of the great railway journeys of the world and a magnificent blend of spectacular scenery, rich history and volatile present.
The Khyber Pass is what Winston Churchill wrote in 1897:
"Every rock, every hill has it's story"
