Tang-e Gharu, also known as Tang-e Gharo (Pashto: تنگ غارو), is a gorge and a mountain pass in the Hindu Kush mountain range of Kabul Province, Afghanistan. The Kabul River passes through the gorge, flowing eastward.[1] The Kabul–Jalalabad Road runs through the gorge, parallel to the river.[2] Construction on the road began in the 1940s and was completed in the 1960s,[3] replacing the ancient Lataband Pass mountain pass. Both the pass and the road are considered to be of major strategic importance, as they provide Afghanistan a connection to Pakistan and Russia.[4] [5] Due to heavy usage during recent conflicts in Afghanistan and frequent traffic accidents, the pass and the surrounding areas have become heavily damaged and periodically closed off.[6]
The cliffs of Tang-e Gharu gorge are a blue-grey limestone, which was formed some 250 million years ago. However, the gorge itself is only about 2 million years old and was formed as a combination of water erosion from the river and the collapse of an underground river channel.