Mintaka Pass

Mintaka Pass
Mintaka Pass
	A Pakistani border marker near Mintaka Pass
Elevation	4,709 metres (15,449 ft)
Location	China–Pakistan border
Range	Karakorum Mountains
Coordinates	37°00′14″N 74°51′04″E / 37.0039°N 74.8511°E
	Mintaka Pass Location of the Mintaka Pass within the greater Karakoram region Mintaka Pass Mintaka Pass (Gilgit Baltistan)

The Mintaka Pass or Mingteke Pass^[1] or Mintika Pass^[2](Chinese: 明铁盖达坂^[3]) is a mountain pass in the Karakorum Mountains, between northern Pakistan and Xinjiang in China. In ancient times, the Mintaka Pass and the nearby Kilik Pass, 30 km (19 mi) to the west, were the two main access points into Gojal (the upper Hunza Valley) from the north. The Hunza Valley is a mountainous valley near Gilgit in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan. In addition, the two passes were also the routes used to reach Chalachigu Valley and Taghdumbash Pamir from the south. The name of the pass – Mintaka means "a thousand ibex" in Kyrgyz.^[4]^[5]

^ Dueck, Harold J. (1 October 2008). Uncommon Providence. Xulon Press. p. 224. ISBN 9781606478738. Retrieved 7 February 2017. We were approaching the Mingteke Pass at 15,000 feet above sea level.
^ Cite error: The named reference hunzaadventuretours was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ 中华人民共和国政府和巴基斯坦政府关于中国新疆和由巴基斯坦实际控制其防务的各个地区相接壤的边界的协定 [China-Pakistan Border Agreement] (in Chinese). 2 March 1963 – via Wikisource. 明铁盖达坂（山口）
^ Kumara Padmanabha Sivasankara Menon (1947). Delhi-Chungking: A Travel Diary. Indian Branch, Oxford University Press. p. 48. 'the Pass of the thousand Ibex'–for that is what Mintaka means in the local language
^ 刘欣 (3 May 2013). "重寻玄奘之路" [Rediscover the path taken by Xuanzang] (in Chinese). 东方早报 (Dongfang Daily). Retrieved 2 February 2017. "明铁盖"在柯尔克孜语中是"一千只公黄羊"的意思...1966年，时任新疆军区副司令员的张希钦在主持修筑中巴公路时，为避敌国空袭，放弃了巴方主张的走宽阔的明铁盖达坂的方案，而取道地势高峻的红其拉甫山口。