Site 4: Hati-lar

At the time of the Zalamkot/Hati-dara monument (site 3), he area was crossed by a paved road with curves supported by meticulously constructed retaining walls. This road connected Zalamkot to Palai and was known as Hati-lar (site 4) or the "Elephant's Road". This ancient road (a 5 km route) starts from the Hathiano-kandao pass, which easily cuts through one of the highest peaks of a nearly continuous mountain range. Moving from the east, the range is crossed by a series of the most eastern passes—Cherat, Gunyar, Shah-kot (site 2b) and Hathiano-kandao (or Hati-kandao)—leading up to the pass known precisely as Hathiano-kandao (the "Elephants' Pass").
Continuing further, one reaches the current Malakand Pass (1,362.00 m above sea level), which is traversed by a British military road that has been upgraded several times up to the present day. In reality, the shortest and easiest route would have been the Shah-kot Pass (623.00 m above sea level) or the slightly higher Hathiano-kandao Pass. However, the British were unable to utilize these due to opposition from the Ranizai tribe, despite various punitive expeditions that began in 1852. Therefore, this site represents the preserved section of the ancient Hati-lar road. This path connected eastern Gandhara (Swabi, Mardan) with Swat (and subsequently Bajaur, Kunar, and Nangarhar in Afghanistan) and formed part of the great northern highway, or uttarapatha, of which the magnificent remains of Hati-lar are the only surviving traces.

Site 3 (Zalamkot/Hati-dar), with its 40 fortified hectares and its monuments, served in fact as the large fortified city guarding this important road junction. Today, the tunnels of the Islamabad–Swat Motorway run smoothly underneath the mountains of Hathiano-kandao.

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