The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c15.140

v1.c15.140

Jamrūd, at the entrance to the Khyber, lies some nine miles west of Peshāwar. In the Sarāi at Jamrūd all caravans going into India or returning to Central Asia halt for the night. The great Bactrian camels, two-humped and shaggy, present an unwonted contrast with the smaller Indian camels. The fort of Alī Masjid, nearly three thousand feet above the sea, crowns the steep ascent to the crest of the pass. At Landi Kotal begins the descent into Afghānistān. Thus the Khyber is a saddle in the heights, not the gorge of a torrent as is the Bolān. The Kābul river flows through an open valley until it nears the British frontier. Then it swerves through a precipitous chasm by a northward loop. The road is therefore carried over the intervening mountain spur.