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Amritsar to Agra: The GT Road’s Geography

Map of the Grand Trunk Road

Geography and Setting

 

“If Ganga lives, India lives. If Ganga dies, India dies.” -Dr. Vandana Shiva

One of the most critical aspects of the GTR is the routes’ incredibly facilitative geography. The full extent of the modern, nearly 3,000 kilometers(1,864 miles) route only varies in elevation relatively marginally from its start and the highest point at the 1,791 meters(5,973 feet) high Afghanistani capital of Kabul and its eastern terminus in Sonargaon, Bangladesh. By the time the route descends some 460 meters(1,510 feet) into the Peshawar valley from the Khyber pass, only 25 kilometers(15.5 miles) from its highest point at the town of Landi Kotal, the topography of the GTR becomes incredibly conducive to travel, with only a soft gradient of elevation change as it follows the Ganges river and descends to near sea level in Bangladesh.

Khyber Pass of Afghanistan, Wikimedia Commons.
South Asia map of Köppen climate classification, Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:World_K%C3%B6ppen_Classification_(with_authors).svg

Different Worlds, The Same Landscape:

The Indo-Gangetic valley presents not only a logistically sound route for spreading populations, but also a sustainable environment for sedentary cultures to flourish. The massive scale of the Indo-Gangetic plain makes it the most extensive alluvial plain in the world, and with its 700,000 km2(434,960 mi2) expanse fed by the mighty Himalaya’s sediment-rich rivers, a critical source of staple foods for 14% of the worlds people. This oasis of agriculture, situated between the Himalayas and the Deccan Plateau, has become a focal point of Humanity that has both confined and created a cradle of civilizations and culture only comparable with Mesopotamia, the Mediterranean, and the Yellow River valley of China. 

 

The Westernmost portion of the road from Kabul to the Peshawar Valley falls under the Cold Semi-Arid(BSk), Cold Desert(BWk), and Hot Semi-Arid(BSh) Köppen climate definitions. However, once reaching the Peshawar valley, the climate quickly shifts towards a primarily Humid Subtropical(Cfa) and, at times, Hot Semi-Arid climate along the river valley until reaching the Tropical Savanna(Aw) and Tropical Monsoon (Am) of Eastern India and Bangladesh. Foreign readers needing a comparison between the Indo-Gangeatic valley and others can find similarly fertile regions in the Southeastern United States, Southeast China, Western Europe, and Coastal Eastern Australia. 

Bibliography

  • Peel, M. C., B. L. Finlayson, and T. A. McMahon. 2007. “Updated World Map of the Köppen-Geiger Climate Classification.” Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 11, no. 5: 1633-1644. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007.

Eastern Terminus of the Grand Trunk Road, Teknaf, Bangladesh

Akbari Sarai

Arab Sarai

Badli Ki Sarai

Baoli Amanat Khan Tarn Taran Punjab

Baoli Doraha

Baoli Goindwal

Baoli Kanech

Baoli Sirhind

Barahpullah Mughal bridge

Dakhni Sarai Mahlian Kalan

Guru-ka-Taal

Hadira Tomb

Humayun's tomb

Humayun's Tomb

Kabuli Bagh

Kila Sikkhan (Mughal Sarai) Shahabad

Kos Minar

Kos Minar (near Dakhni Sarai) Mahlian Kalan

Kos Minar (North Taraf Unsar)

Kos minar (North) Gharunda

Kos Minar (North) Karnal city (minar road)

Kos Minar (North) Taraori

Kos Minar (Sherpur Kalan)

Kos Minar (South Taraf Afgan)

Kos Minar (South)

Kos Minar (South) Karnal city (Namastey Chowk)

Kos Minar Adhon/Adhor

Kos Minar Ajijpur

Kos Minar Akbarpur

Kos Minar Alapur

Kos Minar Amanat Khan

Kos Minar Ambala city

Kos Minar Amin

Kos Minar Aurangabad

Kos Minar Bachre

Kos minar Badarpur Border

Kos Minar Bahini Kalan

Kos Minar Banchari

Kos Minar Bharowal

Kos Minar Bhiwani Kheda

Kos Minar Bhulwana

Kos Minar Bir Pind

Kos Minar Biyanpur

Kos Minar Burj

Kos minar Chabal Adda

Kos minar Chabal Kalan

Kos Minar Chatta

Kos Minar Chaumuha

Kos Minar Cheema Kalan

Kos Minar Daha/Madhuban

Kos Minar Dhada Khanpur

Kos Minar Dhadwandi/Toti

Kos minar Dode

Kos Minar Faridabad city

Kos Minar Futuhpur Kurukshetra Haryana

Kos Minar Gannaur/Rajlu Garhi

Kos Minar Ghunghrali

Kos Minar Gudhpuri/Miranpur

Kos Minar Hansali

Kos Minar Hodal

Kos Minar Hyderabad bet/Mahtmawala

Kos Minar Jagdishpur

Kos Minar Jasola Vihar

Kos Minar Jatipur (Unsar)

Kos Minar Jawahari

Kos Minar Karamjitpur

Kos Minar Khatela Sarai

Kos Minar Kheda Sarai

Kos Minar Khusropur

Kos Minar Khwaja sarai

Kos Minar Kiwana

Kos Minar Kohand

Kos Minar Kot Panech Ludhiana Punjab

Kos Minar Kotwan

Kos Minar Kutail

Kos minar Machhonda

Kos Minar Manana

Kos Minar Mohri

Kos Minar Mundkati

Kos Minar Nakodar

Kos Minar Narela

Kos Minar National Botanical Zoo

Kos Minar Naurangabad

Kos Minar Naushera

Kos Minar Nurdi

Kos Minar Panchi Gujaran

Kos Minar Patarsi Kalan

Kos Minar Prithala/Gudhpuri

Kos Minar Rajataal

Kos Minar Rajgarh

Kos Minar Rajpur

Kos Minar Sahnewal

Kos Minar Sarai Sukhi/Dhirpur

Kos Minar Semri

Kos Minar Shampur

Kos Minar Sikri

Kos Minar Siwali

Kos Minar Sonipat city

Kos Minar Sultanpur Lodi

Kos Minar Tarn Taran (Leper Asylum)

Kos Minar Thanesar

Kos Minar Tut Kalan

Kos Minar Uchi Mangli

Kos Minar Upal

Kos Minar Zainpur

Kosi Tank

Lodhi Tomb

Mazar Bu Ali Shah Qalandar Tomb

Mosque Rajataal

Mughal bridge

Mughal Bridge

Mughal Bridge Chunni Majra

Mughal bridge Khwaja Sarai

Mughal Bridge Madhuban

Mughal bridge Mahlian Kalan

Mughal Bridge Thanesar

Mughal Sarai (Maharaja Ranjit Singh Fort)

Mughal Sarai Azmabad

Mughal Sarai Badarpur

Mughal Sarai Doraha

Mughal Sarai Fatehabad

Mughal Sarai Gharunda

Mughal Sarai Kosi

Mughal Sarai Naurangabad

Mughal Sarai Nurdi

Mughal Sarai Nurmahal

Mughal Sarai Raja Todar Mal

Mughal Sarai Shambhu

Mughal Sarai Sultanpur Lodi

Mughal Sarai Taraori

Old Mughal Bridge

Sarai Amanat Khan

Sarai Lashkar Khan

Sarai Pukhta

Sheikh Chilli Tomb and Mughal Sarai

Taj Mahal

Tank and Baradari Sarai Banjara

Tank of Todarmal

Tomb Nurdi

Tomb of Akbar

Tomb of Mariam-uz-Zamani

Tomb of Muhammad Momin and Haji Jamal

Tomb of Ustad-Shagrid