Holiday in Pakistan (8): the Hunza Valley
Monday was very much another travelling day. Once the landslides of yesterday were reported to be clear, we were able to leave Kachura at 9.30 am. It was raining and rained all day, so the clouds were low and the sky was grey.
On the early part of the journey, it was evident that the rain had dislodged rocks onto the road, but on the drop side of the road the high rock formations were amazing: different colours, shapes and formations. We eventually arrived at a location which does not look that special but is famous as the junction of three huge mountain ranges: the Hindu Kush which goes all the way to Afghanistan, the Karakoram which goes all the way to China, and the Himalayas which goes all the way to Nepal.
Lunch was special. We went to the home of our local guide Ali which is in a town called Oshikhandas. We all sat the floor around a large rectangular carpet loaded with delicious food. We were then shown the rooms and gardens. In the afternoon, we stopped a place called the Rakaposhi Viewpoint, where we were supposed to marvel at the Rakaposhi mountain, but the weather was so terrible that we couldn’t see a thing.
It was 7 pm and dark when we finally reached the Serena Altit Fort Residence where we are going into spend three nights. The journey of 290 kms (about 180 miles) had taken nine and a half hours.
We were now in the Hunza Valley which lies along the Hunza River and borders Ishkoman to the northwest, Shigar to the southeast, the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan to the north, and the Xinjiang of China to the northeast. The Hunza Valley floor is at an elevation of around 8,000 feet (2,438 metres).
Tuesday was a full and fascinating day.
We started with a visit to the 900 year old Altit Fort located 200 metres (650:feet) above sheer precipitous slopes that cascade down towards the Hunza River. The fort itself is not that interesting, but the views are terrific and we had a guide who made fun videos of us on some of the viewpoints. Next we went to a furniture workshop to meet the women from a collective organisation known as CIQAM, meaning ‘wellbeing’, ‘prosperity’ or ‘green’ in the local Brushaski dialect.
It was then a short drive to the village of Ganish, one the oldest settlements on the ancient Silk Road. The original character and design of the village remains intact, with several richly carved mosques that are each over 500 years old. Lunch was at a restaurant in the Darbar Hotel where our table was in a large bay window looking out over a series of snow-capped mountains – truly, a spectacular vista.
The afternoon began with a tour of the 700 year old Baltit Fort where the Mir of Hunza resided until the 1950s. This was much more interesting than the Altit Fort (incidentally, Altit means ’low ‘ and Baltic means ’high’. As we were leaving, our guide to the fort approached me tearfully to explain that I looked so like his father who had died some years previously. Coffee and cake in the “Mountain Cup” cafe completed the day.
Instead of having dinner in the hotel again, we drove to the town of Ali Abad where we ate at a restaurant called “2 Magpies”. Here I had a conversation with a Pakistani orthopaedic surgeon and his much younger American friend and received an invitation to stay at their summer house.