Pir Panjal Range

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The Pir Panjal Range is a group of mountains in the Inner Himalayan region, running from east-southeast (ESE) to west-northwest (WNW) across the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir where the average elevation varies from 1,400 m (4,600 ft) to 4,100 m (13,500 ft). The Himalayas show a gradual elevation towards the Dhauldhar and Pir Panjal ranges. Pir Panjal is the largest range of the lower Himalayas. Near the bank of the Sutlej river, it dissociates itself from the Himalayas and forms a divide between the rivers Beas and Ravi on one side and the Chenab on the other. The renowned Galyat mountains are also located in this range. The Pir Panjal range is named after the Pir Panjal Pass, whose original name as recorded by Srivara, is Panchaladeva, meaning the deity of Panchala). Panchala is a country mentioned in the Mahabharata in the northwest Uttar Pradesh. However, there are also traditions that place the Mahabharata regions in western Punjab and southern Kashmir. Scholar Dineshchandra Sircar has analysed the geography described in the Shakti‐sangama Tantra, where this is indeed the case. Scholar M. A. Stein believes that the concept of deity must have been translated into that of a Pir after the region was Islamised. Haji Pir Pass (altitude 2,637 m (8,652 ft)) on the western Pir Panjal range on the road between Poonch and Uri is in the area of Kashmir administered by Pakistan. The Pir Panjal Pass (also called Peer Ki Gali ) connects the Kashmir valley with Rajouri and Poonch via the 'Mughal Road'. It is the highest point of Mughal road at 3,490 m (11,450 ft) and lies to the south west of the Kashmir valley. The nearest town to the pass in the Kashmir valley is Shopian, the apple town.