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Pir Panjal Pass
The Pir Panjal Pass, also called Peer Ki Gali (or Peer Gali), is a mountain pass and a tourist destination located in the Pir Panjal Range in Jammu and Kashmir, India. It connects the Kashmir Valley to the Poonch district of Jammu & Kashmir via the Mughal Road. It is the highest point on the Mughal road at 3,490 m (11,450 ft) and lies to the southwest of the Kashmir valley.
The Pir Panjal Pass appears in Srivara's Rajatarangini as Panchaladeva (IAST: Pāñcāladeva), meaning the deity of Panchala. Panchala is a kingdom mentioned in the Mahabharata in the northwest Uttar Pradesh. Other traditions place the Mahabharata regions in western Punjab and southern Kashmir. Scholar Dineshchandra Sircar has analysed the geography described in the Shakti‐sangama Tantra, where this is indeed the case.
Scholar M. A. Stein states that the high mountain passes were always regarded as deities or were associated with deities. These customs continued after the region was Islamised by substituting the concept of Pir, Muslim saint, for deity.
The Pir Panjal Pass name is tied to the entire mountain range (Pir Panjal Range). In recent times, the term "Panjal" has become restricted to the mountain range, and the pass came to be called simply Peer Ki Gali (the Pir's pass). It is associated with the saint Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani as well as another saint Sheikh Ahmed Karim.
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. A stream referred to as Pir Panjal stream runs through the valley, flowing east, which becomes the Rambi Ara River in the Shopian district. Scholar Mohibbul Hassan states that the old route through the pass kept to the southern side of the stream, but the Moghuls switched it to the northern side because a steep cliff called Hastivanj to the south was difficult to cross. The modern "Mughal Road" constructed between 2005 and 2009 is close to the route used by the Mughals, though it is not identical to it.
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. A hill village called Bahramgala (original name: Bhairavgala) marks the end of the valley. The Sikh sources name the pass itself as "Bahramgala pass".
The modern Mughal Road avoids the steep descent by following the hill sides to the north. It ends at a town called Bufliaz about 10 km to the west of Bahramgala. From there the National Highway 144A connects to Poonch to the northwest and Rajouri to the south.
At Peer Ki Gali, the night temperatures often drop below -15°C in winters. It is the highest point on Mughal Road. Peer Ki Gali is 40 km away from Shopian, 80 km from Poonch.
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Pir Panjal Pass
The Pir Panjal Pass, also called Peer Ki Gali (or Peer Gali), is a mountain pass and a tourist destination located in the Pir Panjal Range in Jammu and Kashmir, India. It connects the Kashmir Valley to the Poonch district of Jammu & Kashmir via the Mughal Road. It is the highest point on the Mughal road at 3,490 m (11,450 ft) and lies to the southwest of the Kashmir valley.
The Pir Panjal Pass appears in Srivara's Rajatarangini as Panchaladeva (IAST: Pāñcāladeva), meaning the deity of Panchala. Panchala is a kingdom mentioned in the Mahabharata in the northwest Uttar Pradesh. Other traditions place the Mahabharata regions in western Punjab and southern Kashmir. Scholar Dineshchandra Sircar has analysed the geography described in the Shakti‐sangama Tantra, where this is indeed the case.
Scholar M. A. Stein states that the high mountain passes were always regarded as deities or were associated with deities. These customs continued after the region was Islamised by substituting the concept of Pir, Muslim saint, for deity.
The Pir Panjal Pass name is tied to the entire mountain range (Pir Panjal Range). In recent times, the term "Panjal" has become restricted to the mountain range, and the pass came to be called simply Peer Ki Gali (the Pir's pass). It is associated with the saint Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani as well as another saint Sheikh Ahmed Karim.
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. A stream referred to as Pir Panjal stream runs through the valley, flowing east, which becomes the Rambi Ara River in the Shopian district. Scholar Mohibbul Hassan states that the old route through the pass kept to the southern side of the stream, but the Moghuls switched it to the northern side because a steep cliff called Hastivanj to the south was difficult to cross. The modern "Mughal Road" constructed between 2005 and 2009 is close to the route used by the Mughals, though it is not identical to it.
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. A hill village called Bahramgala (original name: Bhairavgala) marks the end of the valley. The Sikh sources name the pass itself as "Bahramgala pass".
The modern Mughal Road avoids the steep descent by following the hill sides to the north. It ends at a town called Bufliaz about 10 km to the west of Bahramgala. From there the National Highway 144A connects to Poonch to the northwest and Rajouri to the south.
At Peer Ki Gali, the night temperatures often drop below -15°C in winters. It is the highest point on Mughal Road. Peer Ki Gali is 40 km away from Shopian, 80 km from Poonch.