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If I had to pick drivers to drive through the baddest terrains of Mars, I'd probably pick drivers from North Pakistan. Their daily commute involves day long journeys through gravel roads cut out from the face of the biggest mountains in the world.
It is these same drivers that have named the road from Skardu to Hunza the 'Ser Dar Du'. It translates to 'headache' road.
These roads are not for the faint hearted. If you're on the outer lane, most of the time you're thinking about how the wheels aren't sliding off the side and into the rocks some 50 meters below.
It also seems like a miracle every time two trucks can pass by each other in what we would normally call 'one-lane' roads.
Despite it's ruggedness, it's one of the most majestic roads you will ever go through. The roads twist and turn with many rivers including the ancient Indus river. You will also pass by several villages and terraced farmlands, crossing people who have lived in the same lands for generations and having their own unique cultures.
The landscape changes with every turn. Sometimes the roads are wide and contain dark asphalt with green bushes on the side. At other times the road turns into grey and loose gravel with no guardrails to protect you.
When the roads go downhill, they seem like they're almost being swallowed by the raging rivers beside it. Some sections that have been destroyed by landslides have to be bypassed with tiny bridges - which are built with considering the inevitability of another landslide coming in and destroying it.
Do not attempt this road with a car that does not perform well in the elements. If you're renting a vehicle, you'll want to splurge on four-wheel or all-wheel drive. The road are very prone to floods and landslides that frequently force bus drivers to stop and sleep in their vehicles overnight while the local maintenance team comes to clean it up the next day. It makes sense that navigating all of this gives drivers a headache.
The whole experience is one you'll never forget. Cruising on a four wheel drive on treacherous mountain roads through the planet's biggest mountains - it surely is adventure travel at it's best!
Finally, reaching a metal suspension bridge at the end of the journey means that the 'headache' is over. It takes a while to cross the bridge as it can only support one truck at a time, and only direction of traffic is opened at any time.
This bridge connects the gravel road to the Karakoram Highway (KKH). Also known as the new Silk Road, it is one of the most incredible and important highways in the world.
Only smooth journeys from here! If you want to know more about the KKH, there's a separate post about it!