---
type: Video
title: "-20 Degrees at the China - Pakistan Border 🇵🇰"
description: Two and a half hours up from Hunza to the Khunjerab Pass — $20 to get in, the world's highest ATM, a closed border with no traffic on it, and the coldest Harry has ever been.
tags: [pakistan, khunjerab-pass, hunza-valley, china, borders, winter, wildlife, roads]
timestamp: 2026-08-06T12:00:00Z
resource: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yElvKLDSMHI
video_id: yElvKLDSMHI
upload_date: 2022-01-12
duration: 638
---

# -20 Degrees at the China - Pakistan Border 🇵🇰

A day trip from [Hunza Valley](/places/hunza-valley.md) up to
[Khunjerab Pass](/places/khunjerab-pass.md), where Pakistan meets China, with
[Mac](/people/mac.md) and the guides.

Harry goes expecting something like the India–Pakistan ceremony at
[Wagah](/places/wagah-border.md) and finds the opposite: **a closed border with
nothing crossing it**, one armed guard, a painted line, and a wind that ends the
visit early. What is memorable is the road up — landslides, ice and loose rock —
and the small things at the top: the world's highest ATM, and a phone that
quietly switches to Chinese time three hours ahead.

*Obs: this page is based on auto-generated subtitles; the pass is named from the
description, which the transcript does not render legibly. Figures the
transcript leaves ambiguous are marked unverified. The tour operator whose
booking links appear in the description is not named.*

## Key moments

- [00:30] **Two and a half hours each way**, and he expects the border to be as
  theatrical as Wagah.
- [01:02] A fish farm on the way up, and the reason to hurry: **the sun sets
  around 2pm here** in the mountains in winter.
- [01:34] **A stop at a police station to register**, because of how close they
  will be to the border.
- [02:04] The driver who brought them up from Islamabad turns up again — a week
  in, the crew are familiar faces.
- [02:34] The Chinese-built highway, which he is told **took six years to
  build** *(from video – unverified)*, and which he credits with the state of
  Pakistan–China relations.
- [02:34] **A landslide, and stretches of road under fallen rock.** Ice, snow,
  frozen water above the road. His conclusion: another reason for a guide, who
  knows where the dangerous sections are.
- [03:58] **The temperatures.** −11°C yesterday, −20 in the mornings, and the
  guides say January can reach −25 to −30. He is told the sunshine is luck.
- [04:29] **$20 for foreign visitors, 300 rupees for Pakistanis**, going to the
  upkeep of the national park.
- [04:59] The park's wildlife board: snow leopard, ibex, brown bear, wild ass,
  blue sheep, lynx, wolf.
- [05:31] **Yaks on the road**, one of which fronts up to the car and then goes
  straight up a slope Harry can hardly believe.
- [06:41] **The world's highest ATM**, at the top.
- [06:41] The guard, the weapon, and the line. Asked what happens if they walk
  past it, the answer is unambiguous.
- [07:28] **The border is closed and nothing is moving through it** — normally
  this is a goods route.
- [08:00] **The coldest he has ever been**, once the wind is added.
- [09:05] **They are on Chinese time.** Mac's phone reads 6pm, three hours
  ahead, because it has picked up the network across the line.
- [09:35] Three borders between these countries now: India–Pakistan,
  India–China, and this one.
- [10:05] His closing note, which is the through-line of the whole northern
  week: he had no idea this side of Pakistan existed.

## Extracted pages

- [Karakoram Highway](/places/karakoram-highway.md)
- [Khunjerab Pass](/places/khunjerab-pass.md)
- [Hunza Valley](/places/hunza-valley.md)
- [Wagah Border](/places/wagah-border.md)
- [Pakistan](/countries/pakistan.md)
- [Mac](/people/mac.md)
- [Akram](/people/akram.md)