Landi Kotal, Pakistan
لنڈی کوتل
Landi Kotal is a town of 2,223 people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
Why visit Landi Kotal
Townapedia lists 1 museum or landmark in and around town.
Highlights include Khyber Pass.
Weather in Landi Kotal
Forecast from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0). Full forecast
About Landi Kotal
Landi Kotal (Pashto: لنډي کوتل, Urdu: لنڈی کوتل) or Lwargai (Pashto: لواړګی Lwāṛgai) is a town in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan, and the administrative capital of Khyber District. It was one of the largest towns in the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas, and is located 1,072 metres (3,517 ft) above sea level, on the route across the mountains to the city of Peshawar. Landi Kotal is at the western edge of the Khyber Pass that marks the entrance to the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan, which is located just 5 kilometres (3 mi) to the west.
From the Wikipedia article Landi Kotal (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Travel tips from other travellers: Landi Kotal on Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Museums and landmarks1
History
Landi Kotal was the westernmost part of the Khyber held by the British during their rule of the Indian subcontinent. In 1897 the Afridis attacked Landi Kotal and other posts in the Khyber Pass. Although the Khyber Rifles put up a stiff defence, Landi Kotal was overrun, as the Rifles lacked water. The British counter-attacked with a force of 34,500 men under Sir William Lockhart, defeating the Afridis, although the Afridis took the town again during the second Anglo-Afghan War.
The Landi Kotal fort during the period of British rule was of the ordinary type, consisting of a keep and an outer fort with accommodation for 5 British officers and 500 native officers and men. From 1899, like the other posts in the Khyber, it had been garrisoned by the Khyber Rifles, an irregular corps of militia recruited from the tribes of the Khyber Agency.
In 1925 the heavily engineered Khyber Pass Railway was opened, linking Jamrud to Landi Kotal.
From the History section of Landi Kotal on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Map of Landi Kotal
1 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Getting there and nearby towns
Bacha Khan International Airport (PEW) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 36 km away.
- Jamrud 25 km southeast, about 25 min by car
- Shinpokh 26 km north, about 26 min by car
- Shabqadar 40 km east, about 40 min by car
- Peshawar 42 km east, about 42 min by car
- Tangi 52 km northeast, about 52 min by car
- Charsadda 55 km east, about 55 min by car
- Utmanzai 58 km east, about 58 min by car
- Pabbi 61 km east, about 1 h by car
- Kohat 64 km southeast, about 1 h by car
- Mardan 84 km east, about 1 h 30 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Local news
Headlines from INDB.
Reviews, tips and questions
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Sources and licences
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, coordinates, regions and time zone
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- Landi Kotal 2023, Voice of America, Public domain
- KhyberPassPakistan, James Mollison, CC BY-SA 2.5
- Pakistan Khyber Pass IMG 9928, Anthony Maw (Transferred by Cloudbound /Originally uploaded by Anthonymaw ), CC BY 3.0
- View from Michni post - panoramio, franek2, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Ford Model 91A at Torkham - Annemarie Schwarzenbach, Annemarie Schwarzenbach, Public domain
- View from Michni post, roads to the border and old railway tunnels - panoramio, franek2, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Torkham border, Maximusopti, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Khayber 3, Syed Salman, CC BY-SA 4.0
Page built November 3, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us or suggest a place.