The ancient five-level Buddhist stupa in the village Vrang. Wakhan Corridor, Tajikistan,
Wikipedia: The Wakhan Corridor (Pashto: واخان دهلېز, Wāxān Dahléz, Persian: دالان واخان) is a narrow strip of territory in Afghanistan, extending to China and separating Tajikistan from Pakistan and Kashmir. The corridor, wedged between the Pamir Mountains to the north and the Karakoram range to the south, is about 350 km (220 mi) long and 13–65 kilometres (8–40 mi) wide. From this high mountain valley the Panj and Pamir Rivers emerge and form the Amu Darya. A trade route through the valley has been used by travellers going to and from East, South and Central Asia since antiquity. The corridor was formed by an 1893 agreement between the United Kingdom and Afghanistan, creating the Durand Line. This narrow strip of Afghanistan acted as a buffer between the Russian Empire (Russian Turkestan, present-day Tajikistan) and the British Empire (British India). Its eastern end bordered China's Xinjiang region, ruled by the Qing dynasty. Politically, the corridor is in the Wakhan District of Afghanistan's Badakhshan Province. As of 2010, the Wakhan Corridor had 12,000 inhabitants. The northern part of the Wakhan, populated by the Wakhi and Pamiri peoples, is also referred to as the Pamir. The Wakhan Corridor forms the panhandle of Afghanistan's Badakhshan Province. At its western entrance near the Afghan town of Ishkashim, the corridor is 18 km (11 mi) wide. The western third of the corridor varies from 13–30 km (8–19 mi) in width and widens to 65 km (40 mi) in the central Wakhan. At its eastern end, the corridor forks into two prongs that wrap around a salient of Chinese territory, forming the 92 km (57 mi) boundary between the two countries, with the easternmost village in the corridor, Qala-e Mafushad, being located in the northern prong. The Wakhjir Pass, which is the easternmost point on the southeastern prong, is about 300 km (190 mi) from Ishkashim. The easternmost point of the northeastern prong is a nameless wilderness about 350 km (220 mi) from Ishka
Size: 7360px × 4912px
Location: Vrang, Wakhan Corridor, Tajikistan
Photo credit: © Bert de Ruiter / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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