[2][3] The Pir Panjal Pass appears in Srivara's Rajatarangini as Panchaladeva (IAST: Pāñcāladeva), meaning the deity of Panchala.

[8] The Pir Panjal Pass can be taken to run between its western entrance, which goes by the name Peer Ki Gali, and a historical way station called Aliabad Sarai (elevation: 3115 metres) at its eastern end.

To the west of Peer Ki Gali, cliffs descend steeply into a valley, which carries another mountain stream that joins the Poonch River flowing from the north.

[16] The Sikh emperor, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, launched an invasion of the Durrani-controlled Kashmir Valley in 1814, partly via the Pir Panjal Pass.

He divided the forces into two parts, one attacking via the Pir Panjal Pass under the command of Dewan Ram Dayal and the other led by himself via the Tosa Maidan.

[18] The Aliabad Sarai is a rest house in the Pir Panjal Pass, said to have been constructed by the Emperor Jahangir towards the end of the 16th century.

Written records note a Pir called Sheikh Ahmed Karim lived and meditated in the Peer Ki Gali during the time of emperor Jahangir.

He converted to Islam from Hinduism, regarded the Peer Ki Gali as a place of God and insisted all the passersby treat it with reverence.

[12] A shrine stands in the Peer Ki Gali to mark the Pir's meditating place, inside which some believe is a stone with his hand print.