| Landi Kotal, at the end of the railway line and eight kilometres (five miles) from the border, is a smugglers’ town. It is 7 km away from Ali Masjid and is situated 1200 m above sea level. Electrical goods, cloth and drugs are the main commodities in the bazaar below the road to the left. However, with the growth of the Smuggler's Bazar near Peshawar, this area lost its status of contraband city. But it is still full of shops selling weapons along with electrical goods, etc at unbelievable low prices. The road forks here: right to the Khyber Rifles’ headquarters, left to the border. A viewpoint beyond the town looks out across tank traps of closely packed cement pyramids to the border post at Torkham (Also known as the 'Dragon's Teeth'), the last oasis of green before the barren brown of the Afghan plain. |