BootsnAll Travel Network



Northern Pakistan…..Land of Enchantment

WOW! Northern Pakistan and the Hunza Valley are out of this world!! Being from a place (the US) where the Western media dominates what many of us know of a country and their people we weren’t quite certain what to expect during our trip to Pakistan. The far north of Pakistan which borders China, Afghanistan, and India is quite different from anything you (and we) had ever envisioned. With it’s 8000-meter snow capped peaks, luscious green river-lined valleys, and almost European looking people (descendants of Alex the Great….isn’t everyone?!) you really do feel like you are in another country altogether. Well you almost are!! The Northern Areas including the Hunza Valley receive no federal assistance, pay no government taxes, and have a Royal Family all to themselves. In fact, according to our local guide, Abbas, they don’t really consider themselves Pakistanis…….All of this stems from a very long, tumultuous history and we would much rather spoil you with the current beauty than the lengthy past.

We spent our first night in the small northern village of Gulmit which lies in the shadows of the Passu Peaks. The locals call them the Cathedral Mountains and as we wake up and open our curtains we see why. This is, by far, the most picturesque “Room with a View” we have ever had. Yes, something can be said for a place on the beach and waking up to the sound of the ocean but this is other-worldly. Giant black, white, and orange-colored peaks glistening from the morning sun while you listen for any sound possible and strain to even hear the Hunza River rushing below. When in the Hunza Valley you will find out that the walks, treks, whatever you want to call them (based on intensity level) are really one of the major reasons for being there. Exploring this ‘undiscovered’ land by foot is really THE best way to soak up the topography, geography, and thousands of years of history. After taking breakfast in the shadow of the mountains Abbas takes us on a walk around Gulmit, a town of not much more than a few thousands inhabitants. The walk is a great introduction to this ‘lost world’. We crossed large suspension foot bridges (Jeff: Yikes!), explored the different rocks and minerals of the mountains, dipped a finger into the icy waters of the Karakorums snow, and best of all met the 3rd and 5th grade girls of the local Gulmit primary school. They were learning all about the local bridge that day which is used as a means of commerce (tea and potatoes) for the locals but all they really wanted to do was learn about Becca’s hair and how it got that color!!

After our AM walk in Gulmit we hopped in our Jeep and headed off to see the rest of the Hunza Valley. Already regretting tht we didn’t allot more time for this section of the trip we talked with Abbas about adding an extra day. He said, “No Problem” and we proceeded to spend the next few nights in the capital of Hunza, the town of Karimabad. What a smart choice!!! Karimabad is really a town built on a mountain. For any of you who have explored the hill towns of Europe….this is a ‘mountain’ town. Literally a town built into the side of the Karakorum peaks, even a small walk through the city is an uphill hamstring workout which is probably the reason the locals live well into their 90’s and 100’s!! Karimabad (old name Baltit) is famous in the region for its mountaintop, perched Baltit Fort as well as a planning point for alpinists attempting to conquer K2, Mt. Rakaposhi, and some of the other 7000M and 8000M peaks in the area. Obviously, this is something yours truly are not into but this is Abbas’ speciality so any of you out there that want to experience that type of adventure contact Abbas (his email and company’s link on side bar) and make his day! With us less adventureous types, Abbas was relegated to showing us the sights as well as a few simple hikes which he did with much zeal. We walked (rather hiked) through the city streets, perused the Baltit Fort and its rich history, enjoyed the local chappati bread and dhal, and on our last day in Hunza experienced a 5 hour hike to the Ultar Meadow. Wow…..what an uphill journey! We hiked over boulders, glaciers, around sheep, and finally found ourselves at the foot of Ladyfinger Peak. After some tea at the loneliest eatery in the world (try 3 hours uphill a mountain for a commute) we made it down in half the time and Lil’ Ms Surefooted ended with only a few scrapes and bruises.  

Well….as many of you know our plans in travelling the world are fairly ambitious from a time perspective so after a few very fulfilling days we all piled into a minivan and headed out to conquer the final 500kms of the Karakorum Highway. 500kms = Two full days of driving!!!! As we found out the roads are tight, turns even tighter, landslides frequent, and the constant threat of plunging into the river 8,000 ft below reminds you that slow is good and we are happy no matter how long it takes as long as we make it in one piece. In addition to the entertainment of watching Jeff grip his chair and lean away from the window as our van careened around turns there was a lot to see on the KKH. We followed and crossed the great Indus River, stretched our legs at the intersection of the world’s three greatest mountain ranges, and passed through many a Pakistani town which is always entertaining. Many of those towns are now home to the refugees and relief efforts of last year’s giant earthquake in the Kashmir region. We saw very little of the physical destruction as the EQ happened on the other side of a large mountain range but we saw much of the human damage as the region is just now starting to wake up from the long winter. There are tents and camps scattered on any open space and people queued up for hours in an effort to petition relief organizations for jobs, financial, or building assistance. Positively, the relief efforts look to be overly abundant with many of the world’s countries as well as the UN and WHO offering much assistance.

Our journey on the Karakorum Highway came to an end a few hours short of Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan and we trekked the rest of the way to our resting point and got ready for a Pakistan that was completely different from the North. The next few days were spent in moving toward the Pakistan-India border of Wagah and partially viewing the cities of Islamabad and Lahore. Besides the weather inching over 105F the cities are much different from the enjoyable Hunza Valley. We visited the giant national Mosque in Islamabad, saw the city from atop, rambled through the famous fort in Lahore (quite a cool sight) and then with the grace and ease of a non-Chinese border crossing Abbas dropped us at the border and we easily passed into India…ending our 25-day Silk Road guided adventure.



Tags:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *