1. Grand Trunk
Road

2. Introduction
The Grand Trunk Road (commonly
abbreviated to GT Road) also formerly
known as Shah Rah-e-Azam or
Sadak-e-Azam or Badshahi Sadak is
one of South Asia's oldest and longest
major roads. For several centuries, it
has linked the eastern and western
regions of the Indian subcontinent,
running from Bangladesh, across
north India, into Peshawar in
Pakistan up to Kabul, Afghanistan. It
was initiated and extended in 14th

3. Modern
DevelopmentsThe Grand Trunk Road
continues to be one of the
major arteries of India and
Pakistan. The Indian section is
part of the ambitious
Golden Quadrilateral project.
For over four centuries, the
Grand Trunk Road has
remained "such a river of life
as nowhere else exists in the
world".

4. HistoryIn the 16th century, a major road
running across the Gangetic plain was
built afresh by Pashtun emperor Sher
Shah Suri, who then ruled much of
northern India. His intention was to
link together the remote provinces of
his vast empire for administrative and
military reasons. The Sadak-e-Azam
('great road') as it was then known, is
universally recognized as having been
the precursor of the Grand Trunk Road.

5. Route
RouteToday, the Grand Trunk Road remains a continuum that covers a distance
of over 2,500 kilometres (1,600 mi). From its origin atChittagong it
traverses to Sonargaon in the Narayanganj District of central Bangladesh,
it reaches India, passing through Kolkata,Bardhaman, Durgapur, Asansol,
Dhanbad, Aurangabad, Dehri-on-sone, Sasaram, Mohania, Mughalsarai ,
Varanasi, Allahabad, Kanpur ,Etah, Agra, Mathura , Delhi, Karnal, Ambala,
Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar. Within India, the major portion of the road
– the stretch between Delhi and Kolkata – is known as NH 2 (National
Highway - 2) and that between Delhi and Wagah, at the border with
Pakistan, is known as NH-1.
From the Pakistan border the Grand Trunk Road (part of the N-5)
continues north through Lahore, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Jhelum,Rawalpindi,
Attock District, Nowshera, Peshawar and Landi Kotal.
It then enters Afghanistan and continues west
through Jalalabad, Surobi and ends at Kabul, a large part of the Afghan
leg of Grand Trunk Road is today part of Jalalabad-Kabul Road.

6. GalleryGallery