Tangi Gharu and the Lataband Pass
Tangi Gharu, [6]: One and half hour tour to gorge: 32 km; 20 mi; 30 min.
Lataband Pass, [9]: One-day tour to Sarobi and return by Tangi Gharu; Kabul-Sarobi: 72 km; 45 mi; 3 hrs.
Permit for Lataband must be obtained from Tourist Office. No firearms allowed without hunting license.
Petrol: Lataband route: Bala Hissar (Tour II, [9]), Sarobi
Hotel: Hotel Sarobi
Refreshments: teahouses at Sarobi
[1] In its ruggedness, the Tangi Gharu is far more spectacular than anything to be seen in the Khyber Pass. It is typical, however, of many gorges to be found in the heart of the Hindu
Kush. For this reason, we recommend this short, easy trip to the Tangi Gharu if your visit to Afghanistan is limited to Kabul. For a more extensive sample of Afghanistan's remarkable scenery,
you may enjoy an easy one-day excursion combining the Lataband Pass and the Tangi Gharu. The Lataband is not much used these days, however, except by the nomads, and spring rains may damage
the road considerably. It is wise, therefore, to check with the Tourist Office before making this trip. Also, because of new hunting regulations, you must not carry any firearms of any kind
and you must have a permit to proceed past the barrier at Butkhak. Even with the permit, some have experienced delay.
[2] The history of the changing routes from Kabul to India is interesting. After Kabul rose to prominence over Kapisa (see section on Gulbahar and Kapisa, 14-21)
during the 9th century A.D., the popular route to India via the Panjsher River lost much of its traffic to other routes starting from Kabul. By the 16th century, the Moghuls were coming and
going via the Khord Kabul which swings in a long loop south from the village of Butkhak to pass through Jagdalik before reaching Jalalabad. They built post houses every five or six miles along
this route for the tribal territory was very dangerous. The British Army used this route also during the First Anglo-Afghan War (1838-1842).
[3] During the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878-1880), General Roberts elected to use a shorter route via the Lataband Pass which passed north of the Khord Kabul route, and by the time
western residents in Kabul begin describing their visits to the court of Amir Abdur Rahman (r. 1880-1901), they write almost exclusively of the Lataband route and report that the Khord Kabul
road had fallen into disrepair. Seeking to shorten the way still further and to avoid the snow covered pass, Amir Abdur Rahman looked to an animal trail beside the Kabul River through the
Tangi Gharu Gorge. Though he spent lacs of rupees [aisk.org note: 1 lac = 100,000] in exploring the possibilities of this
route, he found the wild chasm too inhospitable for the road-builders of his day though a track for horses was successfully completed.
[4] Chroniclers of Amir Habibullah's time (r. 1901-1919) first speak of two routes from Kabul meeting at Jalalabad; the track through the Tangi Gharu and the road via the Lataband Pass.
Later on, however, they tell us that the Amir despaired over the upkeep of the Lataband road which almost disappeared each year during the spring floods as once again he turned to the Khord
Kabul which he made motorable. King Amanullah (r. 1919-1929) used this route also and there were fine serais all along the way with comfortable rest houses and the route was marked with
milestones which also gave the altitude.
[5] His Majesty King Mohammad Zahir Shah finally turned the early dream of a route through the Tangi Gharu into a reality and it has been paved since 1960.
[6] The road to the Tangi Gharu and Jalalabad begins at the clock tower in front of Mahmud Khan Bridge, Tour II, [51],
Map II.
[7] First, one passes the Slaughter House and Tannery on the left. The tannery was established by Mr. Thornton from England in 1904 during the reign of Amir Habibullah (r. 1901-1919).
Mr. Thornton and his wife, Annie, wrote an engaging account of their stay in Kabul (see bibliography). Kabul's newest industrial development area begins just beyond.
Here you will find the new Custom's House, several textile and raisin processing plants, a wool mill, a winery and several establishments before coming to the Pul-i-Charkhi military base,
home of the Military Academy since 1970. Another section of the military base follows and then the road enters the mountains by the side of the Kabul River.
[8] Once within the mountainous cavern, the road twists and turns passing, just beyond Marker 30, a small dam which diverts the waters of the Kabul River into a large tunnel on the
right. This is the Mahipar Gorge which has given its name to this hydroelectric project opened in 1966. About 3 kilometers beyond you reach the top of the magnificent gorge. You may stop
here or drive on for an additional 3 kilometers of switchbacks to the bottom of the gorge in order to appreciate the ruggedness in its entirety.
[9] Those deciding on the Lataband tour begin at the Minar-i-Nejat at the foot of the Bala Hissar,
Tour II, [9], Map II. Turn left, passing along one side of the Chaman which is on your left. On the
right is a district of Kabul known as Shah Shaheed, named after the Ziarat-i-Shah Shaheed, one of the more important shrines in Kabul. Legend connects this site with that early commander of the
Islamic armies who fell fighting with two swords. According to this story, the commander's head was severed from his body at this spot but he continued to fight on, wielding his two swords,
until he fell by the side of the Kabul River. Early 19th century, visitors report having seen the tombstone of John Hicks near this shrine. It was dated 1666 and is our earliest references to a
western resident in Kabul. Masson was told that Hicks had been an artillery officer much favored by Kabul's Governor but his story remains a mystery.
[10] After passing a petrol pump at the foot of Sia Sang (Black Rock) Hill, one passes through a new residential district named Sayed Nur Mohammad Shah Mina after a very distinguished
Prime Minister to Amir Sher Ali Khan (r. 1863-1866; 1868-1879). Most of that unhappy period's foreign relations were conducted by him. He attended the friendly meeting at the Ambala
Conference between the Amir and the British Viceroy, Lord Mayo, in March, 1869; met with Persian and British representatives on the Seistan Border Arbitration in 1872; met again with the
British at the abortive Simila Conference in 1873 by which time Anglo-Afghan relations were rapidly deteriorating, only to break down completely after conferences in Peshawar in 1877 in the
course of which Nur Mohammad Shah sickened and died on March 27th, 1877. The consequence of this unfortunate state of affairs was, of course, the Second Anglo-Afghan War of 1878-1880.
[11] Rising over a small pass, 5 km; 3 mi. from Kabul, one comes to the field of Begrami, site of another unhappy encounter with the British. It was here, on the field the
British had used as their race course, that the retreating British army camped on the night of the 6th of January, 1842, the glow of their burning cantonment Tour IV,
Tour II, [13], filling the horizon behind them. The army of General Pollock camped on the same field when they returned the following September, come to
avenge the disastrous retreat which took the lives of 14,000 soldiers and camp followers. More recently, this was Kabul's Golf Course until a
new course was built at the foot of Kargha Dam in the late 1960s and today
His Majesty celebrates his birthday on the 14th of October each year by attending the buzkashi championships, Afghanistan's famous national game which is played with much color and
excitement, here.
[12] The paved road ends here, marked by one of the few remaining mile markers erected by King Amanullah (r. 1919-1929) when this was the main road to India. Continue past Pul-i-Begrami
(Begrami Bridge) at which you will note one of King Amanullah's rest houses on the right, to the village of Butkhak (Clay Idol), 17 km; 10 mi; 25 min. from Kabul. Here you must present a
permit in order to proceed further.
[13] After the barrier take road to left; the right fork marks the beginning of the old Khord Kabul route. You may travel about 29 km; 18 mi; 1 1/4 hrs. along this route through the
5-mile long Khord Kabul (Little Kabul) Pass to the Band-i-Ghazi, a reservoir, but not much further. There are some nice picnic spots along the way, however.
[14] The Lataband Pass is 40 km; 25 mi. from Kabul. Lataband, meaning Mountain of Rags, gets its name from a belief that wishes will be granted to those hanging bits of their
clothing in the bushes of this mountain. It is also said that the Empress Nurjahan, wife of the Moghul Emperor Jehangir, was born on this peak. Before crossing over the pass, the road rises high
enough so that you can look back over the mountains into Kabul.
[15] On the other side, the road stays high, making it possible to look down upon the spectacular view of innumerable ranges rising and falling in an uninterrupted sequence up to the foot
of the lofty mountains of Pansher. At their foot, the valley through which the ancient Kapisa-Sarobi route makes its way can easily be detected.
[16] After the virtually deserted lands of the mountains, the fertile valley surrounding a large lake at Sarobi is a welcome sight of considerable beauty. Because of the new hydroelectric
project at nearby Naglu, Sarobi is fast becoming a sizeable town with many new buildings. Turn left upon reaching the paved road to return to Kabul. (Petrol pump at junction)
[17] As the Kabul River enters Sarobi, it appears as a very respectable and sizeable river, for just above here it has been joined by the Panjsher River which in turn has been joined by
the Ghorband River at Kapisa. It is in fact the waters of three major rivers from the Hindu Kush which you see entering Sarobi. The road rises to a plateau and then drops down to the Kabul
River on the other side. Here the river is quite modest except in the spring when it churns and boils in protest against the confining mountain walls.
[18] From this point, the road bores straight into the mountains which tower higher and higher above it until it suddenly sweeps up the mountain side to reach the top of the Tangi
Gharu gorge where the river drops over a waterfall. From here, it gradually emerges onto the wide Kabul plain.
More photos of Tangi Gharu and Sarobi:
