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The Kyzyl-Art Pass or Kyzyl-Art Pass is a mountain border pass between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is the only pass that crosses the Trans-Alay Range and is one of the highest border passes on the planet. It is located at 4,336 meters, in the most arid and rocky area of Central Asia. The Kyzyl-Art Pass is of strategic and commercial importance.
| Elevation | 4,280 m (14,042 ft) |
| Location | Kyrgyzstan–Tajikistan border |
| Range | Trans-Alay Range |
This pass is part of the legendary Pamir Highway, a 1,200-kilometer road that connects Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan and leads south from the village of Sary-Tash in the Alay Valley of Kyrgyzstan to the Pamir plateau in Tajikistan. Kyzyl-Art is just over 100 kilometers from the Ak-Baital Pass, the highest mountain pass in the country and also part of the Pamir Highway.
The pass was named due to the reddish colors of the surroundings, as in Tajik, “Kyzyl” means red and “Art” means mountain pass. Therefore, we are facing the red mountain pass. The terrain of Kyzyl-Art is desert, harsh, and generally gravelly. The Kyzyl-Art road was built in the 1920s and 1930s, although it is a pass with hundreds of years of use as it is a historical branch of the Silk Road. Despite the harshness of the terrain, it is worth highlighting the incredible panoramic views of snowy mountains over arid terrain.
Photo by Vladimir Trofimov
