Holiday in Pakistan (6): travelling further north
It was a whole day (Friday) in the Khapu Valley.
Most of us – three opted out – started the day with a one-hour hike from Garbuchong village, not far from our hotel, all the way up a rocky pathway to the Thoqsikhar Viewpoint overlooking the Khaplu Valley. It was a tough climb – not just steep but comprising mostly large, unevenly shaped rocks and all at a significant altitude (around 2,700 metres or 8,700 feet). We had to pause regularly to catch our breath. But the views were spectacular: snow-capped mountains, blue sky, pink blossom.
After a quick call back at the hotel to pick up the others, we drove over to a village called Machlu for a leisurely stroll. Most of the adults were at the mosque, but there were lots and lots of children, wanting to greet us with a few words of English or just a smile, often happy to be photographed.
Lunch was at a local trout farm sitting outside in the bright sunshine. Naturally most of us actually had trout. Back at the hotel, we were given a tour of all the main rooms in the original palace building that is now the main block for residents. We could almost sense the presence of the former royal family that lived here and ran its territory,
Saturday was essentially a travelling day. We left our hotel at 8.50 am and, before hitting the main road, we visited two local mosques, one very new and the other exceptionally old.
The first was in the process of being built by local labour with funding by the local community. The intricate wood carving was all done by one old man who was self taught. Unusually it is a Sufi mosque. The second is called Khanqan-i-Chaqchan and it is has stood for almost 700 years, making it one of the oldest mosques in Pakistan. It is built out of wood.
A final, and very brief, stop was at an establishment called the Baltistan Art & Crafts Revival Academy. This doubled as a toilet stop which was very convenient because ahead of us lay a constantly winding and bumpy road journey of 170 kms (105 miles) from the Khaplu Valley north-west to the Shigar Valley with no public toilets (we found private a couple of times) and no restaurants or cafes along the way (we only had lunch once we reached our hotel). We were now a bit lower – around 2,300 metres (about 7,500 feet) – but it was overcast so it was cooler.
We arrived at our new hotel at 1.45 pm. The Serena Shigar Fort is based on a fort-palace dating back some 400 years. It was very atmospheric, especially when I kept banging my head on the absurdly low door openings and we regularly lost all power for a few minutes at a time. All part of the fun of travel in a new land. Lunch was not served until about 3.30 pm and we were back in the restaurant for dinner at 7 pm. Mealtimes are another flexible feature of this kind of travel.
As throughout the first half of our tour, everyone was so friendly and often wanted to talk to us. At the conclusion of dinner, Jenny and I had a conversation with a couple serving in the army (the husband was a colonel) and, as with so many of our earlier conversations, they complained about how misunderstood Pakistan is globally and sought to emphasise that it is much more modern that foreigners appreciate.