[2] It is the highest pass on the ancient caravan route between Leh in Ladakh and Yarkand in the Tarim Basin.

[3] Historically, the high altitude of the pass and the lack of fodder were responsible for the deaths of countless pack animals while the route was notorious for the trail of bones strewn along the way.

The Karakoram pass falls on the boundary between India's union territory of Ladakh and China's Xinjiang autonomous region.

It also plays a major geographic role in the dispute between Pakistan and India over control of the Siachen Glacier area immediately to the southwest of the pass.

[14] The current de facto tripoint is about 100 km west of the pass near Indira Col in the Siachen Muztagh, where the Actual Ground Position Line between Indian and Pakistani forces meets the border with China.