Entertainment Burushaski & shinaki
1 Aqeel Khan Mohabbat Thiga Zindagi Kam Bai
2 Noushad Ali Shaad Mar Gul-e-Guan
3 Shahid Akhter Deemi Gulab Askur-e-nasan
4 Talib Hussain Jaamip Gumanuma Lay
5 Rahimullaha Rahim Une Samba New
6 Talib Hussain Khafa Jaa sum Oman
7 Shahid Akhter Un Charati-e-Khurunchlum
8 Salahuddin Ek Daas-e-Gugure
9 Salahuddin More Gaa Chinale
10 Noushad Ali Bahar Sum Khabar Bila
11 Noushad Ali Bishkiyaba Unay Ganay
12 Salahuddin Saaqey Ash Saan Khola Thye
13 Salahuddin Mae Hioss Odarain Tu
14 Shahid Akhter Asay Qarar Biluman Unay Chuma
15 Mohammad Zarin Than Pagal Hanay Joo
16 Mohammad Zarin They judai To Bay Y
17 Talib Hussain Haalin Bot Yeashuman Maa
18 Hum Raaz Aasmaane Sitare
19 Irfan Karim Shulle Foo Estaisar
20 Irfan Karim Shulle-e-Gham
21 Talib Hussain Thay Aachay
22 Salahuddin Silsila Dekho Jii Jii Hayee Hayeee
23 Aqeel Khan Tujo Bageir Funnar
24
Talib Hussain
Ash Maa Baaqar Hanos
25 Noushad Ali
Lala Jaa Unay Majno Baa
26 Shahid Akhter
Unay Tawab Acham
27 Shahid Akhter
Une Shulle MIn Fana Umanan
28 Shahid Akhter
Waa maalay poonoo
29 Shahid Qalandri
Mastana Halan
30 Ayub Mutasir
Hussun-e-Phoonar Shik
31
Talib Hussain Yar Mai Ke Phat Ne Nibo
32
Talib Hussain Sanam Tu Jo Bageir
33
Shahid Akhter Maimee Ass Baar Arthilay
34
Ayub Mutasir Thaee Judaai-e-Gham
35
Irfan Karim Joowas Bahar Goka Nukan Joo
36
Talib Hussain Maa Achuoo Ashiq
37
mansoor ali shab Chitrlai music
38
mansoor ali shab Chitrlai music
39
Talib Hussain Dar Badar Je Bhut Gusaram
40
Kalash Music Danni Kalash
41
Shahid Akhter Jaa Jeee-e-Bahar
42
Get Ready To Laugh... Maee Deephato Malee ( Shinaki Dialogues
43
Shahid Akhter Maimee Ass Baar Arthilay
44
Shahid Akhter Unay Tawab Acham
45
Shahid Akhter Shulle Min Fana Umanan
46
Talib Hussain Bahar-e-khatche
47
Talib Hussain
Jaa Zaindagi Bahar
48
Culture Academy
Shari Bano Unaykatoo
49
Culture Academy Thoolay Tookoo
50
Barkat Ali Apee Sanjeel Atta
51 Rahimullah Rahim Jamaal-e-Gulchumus
52 Rahimullah Rahim Moo Us Dhish Lo Api Jaa
53 Rahimullah Rahim Na Na Tana Nai
54 Rahimullah Rahim Phaat Naa Nichaa
55 Rahimullah Rahim Qarar Juchi Qarare Intezaar Aeti
56 Noushad Ali Das Min Kay Bashin
57 Noushad Ali Fash Manimi Gunchin
58 Noushad Ali Ganish Buri Daychaba
59 Ahmed Aziz Wakhi Music
60 Talib Hussain Jaa Nasib loo Un Apaa Kay
61 Azur Khan Azhar (Puniali Music) Marak Marak Bila
62 Azur Khan Azhar (Puniali Music) Sanam Tu Shachay Sharabi
63 Shahid Akhter Asay Qarar Biluman Unay Chuma
64 Tu Pante Panni Kass Tu Pante Panni Kass(comedy Dialogues)
65 Shahid Akhter Ghoocharcham Une Shulle Majnoon
66 Shahid Akhter Jaa Us basi-e-Dookher
67 Shahid Akhter Janum Janum Us Une Chua Naa
68 Shahid Akhter Joo Maltalik Mathanar
69 Shahid Akhter Mee Khanar Jucha Dayal Jabba
70 Shahid Akhter Sun Chambali Ahha
71 Shahid Akhter Tikaate Balas
72 Talib Hussain Sanch-e-Pashi Yer
73 Talib Hussain Thay Bachpani Waqat
74 Shahid Sharafi Laila Ohh Tum Hi Laila ( Shinaki )
75 Noushad Ali Laila Jaa Unay Majno Baa
76 Karim junoon Kela Kela
77 Karim junoon Junoon
78 Karim junoon Junoon
79 Karim junoon Janoon
80 Get Ready To Laugh... Different Dialogues of different Languages
81 Get Ready To Laugh... Different Dialogues of different Languages1
82 Ahmed Aziz Wakhi Music
83 Ahmed Aziz Wakhi Music
84 Ahmed Aziz Wakhi Music
85 Rajoon Rajoon
86 Rajoon Rajoon
87 Salahuddin Aen Saaki Gaye Achiye
88 Salahuddin Hussun Fash Hun
89 Salahuddin Main Heeo Soo Darojo
90 Salahuddin Saakiaa Sun Khulaase
91 Salahuddin Thae Sukke Halir Hane
92 Humraaz Aasmaane Sitare
93 Humraaz Bewafaa Zindagi
94 Humraaz Ek Armaane Kay
95 Humraaz Haseen Mane Hanamus
96 Humraaz Parda Lanth Thay
97 Classical Music Of Hunza Classical Music Of Hunza
98 Classical Music Of Hunza Classical Music Of Hunza
99 Wakhi Music Deem Jahan -e-M Ishaq
100 Zeek Afridi Bibi Shirinay Zerey Gule
101 Jan Ali First Singer Shinaki Chiddey Chall Thaynay
102 Jan Ali Achooy Tu Balan They
103 Jan Ali They Gotay Daroo Intezar
104 Jan Ali Na Na Yoo Yoo Aaay
105 Jan Ali Yar Masey Khayal
106 Jan Ali Na Aram Mus Toot
107 Mumtaz Ali Andaaz Mumtaz Ali Andaaz ( Burushaski )
108 Mumtaz Ali Andaaz Too Soosun Jee
109 Shahban Ali Thaea Mai suss Hain
110 Shahban Ali Aaa Hai Too Chaki
111 Shahban Ali Aaa Hai Thea Katak Beee
112 Shahban Ali Tu Khyal Mosfar
113 Shahban Ali Aaa Hai Passi Majoo Qarar
114 Shahban Ali Aaa Hai Maa Hai Sangat
115 Ghulam Nabi Humraaz Un Farhat Majnon
116 Ghulam Nabi Humraaz Oo Sumaiha
117 Ghulam Nabi Humraaz Bawafa Duniya Baa
118 Ghulam Nabi Humraaz Manzilay Umeed
119 Ghulam Nabi Humraaz Ishq Maa Thigha
120 Wakhi Music Chaam Tee Chum Peyala Fun
121 Wakhi Music Mustana Must Zooyaar
122 Ghulam Nabi Humraaz Thay Mohabat Mass Pagal Tharayghi
123 Ghulam Nabi Humraaz Thay Paoo Paoon Nishan
124 Ghulam Nabi Humraaz Ash Safar Zindage
125 Ghulam Nabi Humraaz Duniya Mast Nokun Miyabaa
126 Sehar Chaman Phat Ney Oodare Gaa
127 Sehar Kaun Yeh Mar Hai Yaa Mousam
128 Sehar Jaa Bay Na Humish Maja
129 Sehar Tabah Nay Marhaba Nay
130 Sehar Thae Powdere Sindoor
131 Sehar Hameesha Maa Taa Lel Lel
132 Aqeel Khan Aqeel Khan6
133 Mumtaz Ali Andaaz Tan Tamasha ( Wakhi Music )
134 Mumtaz Ali Andaaz Mad Hamein ( Wakhi Music )
135 Mumtaz Ali Andaaz Zakhmi Jigar ( Wakhi Music )
136 Mumtaz Ali Andaaz AA Mulaqat-e-Sahad (Wakhi Music )
137 Mumtaz Ali Andaaz Zindagi Tere Man Be Araam
138 Mumtaz Ali Andaaz OO Maikhana Sharaab
139 Mumtaz Ali Andaaz Arzoo e Je Ar Mayan
140 Mumtaz Ali Andaaz Jaa Haseen Ta Mizaaj
141 Ahmed Aziz Wakhi Ik Cheez-e-Jism o Jaan
142 Shahid Akhter Aaaishaq Teena Buzam
143 Salahuddin Mohabbat Ne Kiye Khun
144 Irfan Karim Shulle-e-Gham
145 Salahuddin Ek Daas-e-Gugure
146 Salahuddin Main Hasrat Gayee Achiee
147 Rahimullah Rahim Aus Arman Tak Naa
148 Mansoor Ali Shabab Ishq-o-Junoon Wajah Shabab
149 Mansoor Ali Shabab Itchi Ti Baghata
150 Mansoor Ali Shabab Tahushi Maa Jaan Nu Aar
151 Aqeel Khan Main Heeo Sang They
152 Aqeel Khan Achay Tu Hi Hai Lamb-e- Nasha
153 Aqeel Khan Tu Aasman Hai
154 Aqeel Khan Tu Daulat-e-Nasha Hosn-e- Nasha
155 Aqeel Khan Tu Rooh Aety
156 Aqeel Khan Kishti Ar Way Atchiti
157 Aqeel Khan Ash Main Dushmane Shiri Bey
158 Sharaf-ud-din Faryad Shuru-e-gig Hiran
159 Sharaf-ud-din Faryad Tu Ashiq Masharaab
160 Sharaf-ud-din Faryad Tum Khushi Udrachoo
161 Sharaf-ud-din Faryad Tu Mai Zindagi Nee
162 Sharaf-ud-din Faryad Tu Mai Shirin Maa Tay Farhad
163 Sharaf-ud-din Faryad Its Ponin
164 Sharaf-ud-din Faryad Hik Mulaqat -e - Buiat
165 Sharaf-ud-din Faryad Oh Laila Tum Hi Laila
166 Sharaf-ud-din Faryad Oo Matte Ga Sathi
167 Sharaf-ud-din Faryad They Aashiqe Tute Salaam
168 Sharaf-ud-din Faryad Oo Thay Mien
169 Sharaf-ud-din Faryad Nadaan Shuto
170 Sharaf-ud-din Faryad Mohabbate San Sany
171 Sharaf-ud-din Faryad Thae Yaad Siki Gigan
172 Sharaf-ud-din Faryad Wah Unar Wah Molaqat
173 Sharaf-ud-din Faryad Zalim Funar -e- Patang
174 Rahimullah Rahim Dar Bidiro Musqil Jee-e -Dannan Naa
175 Rahimullah Rahim Tatta Garin Joochi Jaa Garin Che
176
Wajahat
Bay Khabar Duniya Chum
177
Wajahat
Usse Multun Atte
178 Ameer Burushaski Taltash Ko Gureen Chin-e-Atte
179 Ameer Burushaski Miar Manuma Gudim Zalzal Nay
180 Ameer Burushaski Jaa Baag Talle Dukher Gulab
181 Ameer Burushaski Gham Kay Khushi Oltik Ka Bichan
182 Ameer Burushaski Meekhan Ar Joowas Bo Nuse Hairan
183 Ameer Burushaski Hik Dum An Nukiechan Hash Sun Doosum
184 Mansoor Ali Shabab Mashan-e-Masha Ta Ta Na Maiha
185 Mansoor Ali Shahbab Ta Ta Na Nimha
186 Mansoor Ali Shahbab Ta Ishq-O-Surroo Na Mast
187 Mansoor Ali Shahbab Taa Masti Tak Aechan
188 Mansoor Ali Shahbab Mast Ni Mastana Bahar
189 Mansoor Ali Shahbab Jey Mohabbat Kure Bab A Kure Na
190 Mansoor Ali Shahbab Anjaame Mohabbat Matte Maloom
191 Shazaman Chilasi Too Khusi Maja Shuru
192 Shazaman Chilasi Ishq-e-begun Thae
193 Sher Hayat Rahi Haye Nadaan Insaan
194 Rahmat Ali Chitrali Khowar Music Haye Aashiq
195 Rahimullah Rahim Dar Bidiro Gusqillta Jouit Hayan Naa Naa
196 Mir Baaz Hunzai Argent Latter To Hunza (Comedy)
197 Bake Danni Bake Danni
198 Api Bot Kalamo-e-Harip Api Bot Kalamo-e-Harip
199 Baltite Taranfa Qalandare Harip Baltite Taranfa Qalandare Harip
200 Altit-e-Tranfa Laimane Harip Altit-e-Tranfa Laimane Harip (Danni)
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Dukar Valley Is A Charming Hamlet Hunza Valley
Duikar is a charming hamlet above the village of Altit which is situated next to Baltit, Karimabad. Karimabad is the capital of the former state of Hunza. The state of Hunza was ruled by the same family for over 960 years, with their seat being the Baltit Fort. Both Baltit Fort and the even older Altit Fort are worth a visitor before you come up to Duikar or on your way down.
One of the main attractions of Duikar is the viewpoint (2900 m) which is a 5 minute climb up behind Eagle’s Nest Hotel. Here you have the best views during sunrise and sunset, if you have the chance come to Eagle’s Nest Hotel at full-moon. Starting from Eagle’s Nest Hotel it is a 1 ½ hours climb up to Hosht (3600 m). From the Hosht viewpoint you have great views of Ultar Mountains and Hopper glacier. The Hunza panorama is wider and dearer here.
The Ultar glacier trek can be done as long day trek or one can camp for a night at Ultar meadow. It is recommended to take a guide on this trek. Eagle’s Nest Hotel can arrange every thing for you.
It is a pleasant hour stroll to the Hazrat Abbas shrine near Shabbat village. From here there are spectacular views down to Karakorum Highway and an awesome views of Golden peak, Rakaposhi, Ultar and Lady's Finger mountains. The management of Eagle’s Nest Hotel will gladly assist you in planning your treks and walks around Duikar.
One of the main attractions of Duikar is the viewpoint (2900 m) which is a 5 minute climb up behind Eagle’s Nest Hotel. Here you have the best views during sunrise and sunset, if you have the chance come to Eagle’s Nest Hotel at full-moon. Starting from Eagle’s Nest Hotel it is a 1 ½ hours climb up to Hosht (3600 m). From the Hosht viewpoint you have great views of Ultar Mountains and Hopper glacier. The Hunza panorama is wider and dearer here.
The Ultar glacier trek can be done as long day trek or one can camp for a night at Ultar meadow. It is recommended to take a guide on this trek. Eagle’s Nest Hotel can arrange every thing for you.
It is a pleasant hour stroll to the Hazrat Abbas shrine near Shabbat village. From here there are spectacular views down to Karakorum Highway and an awesome views of Golden peak, Rakaposhi, Ultar and Lady's Finger mountains. The management of Eagle’s Nest Hotel will gladly assist you in planning your treks and walks around Duikar.
GHIZAR VALLEY
Though the first half of the road as far Gupis is currently being improved and widened, it is still only a dirt track cut a long the cliff face on the south bank of the river. Passing through the former kingdoms of Punial and Gupis, with Ishkoman and Yasin up side valleys to the north, it connects all the tiny towns which are also known as Ghizer Valley.
Punial is the first kingdom to the west of Gilgit. It encompasses 12 villages and populations of 17,000.Its inhabitants call it ‘the place where heaven and earth meet’. Its capital is Sher Qila, 35 kilometers (22miles) from Gilgit. Sher Qila means Loin’s fort, so called because it proved so difficult to conquer.
Sher Qila boasts and impressive modern girls’ high school built by Aga Khan, which stands beside the now redundant polo ground; facing the polo ground is an old carved wooden mosque.
A 150-years-old watchtower, crowned with a pair of ibex horns, stands guard at the end of the ground, a reminder of past wars. The villagers took refuge in the tower whenever attacked.
The next important village in Punial is Singal; 16kilometres (ten miles) further west, where there is a guest house and a modern Aga Khan medical centre with solar heating.
Punial is full of orchards and small terraced fields and can easily be reached in a day trip from Gilgit. There is time to walk along the water channels, to look into a local flour mill or blacksmith’s forge, to watch the local ploughing or weaving in outdoor pitlooms, and to photograph rural life.
Gakuch, 72kilometres (45miles) from Gilgit, is the turning point for the jeep road north up the lovely Ishkoman Valley, another former kingdom. The PWD rest house at Chator Khnad, 24 kilometres (15miles) from Gakuch is the starting point for the five-day trek east to Naltar, across the 4,267metre (14,000-foot) Naltar Pass. The five-day trek west to Yasin across the 4,432metre (14,540-foot) Asambar Pass is green and easy all the way. At Chator Khand the road splits, right to limit, another starting point for a trek to Naltar, and left to the village of Ishkoman, from which you can trek to Yasin across the Ishkoman Pass.
Gopis, the next kingdom west along the Gilgit River, 108 kilometre (67miles) or six hours from Gilgit, is where you turn north for the Yasin Valley, yet another former kingdom. Water is plentiful here, making this perhaps the prettiest of all the Gilgit kingdoms: villagers are stacked up the mountainside and surrounded by steeply terraced fields.
From Yasin Valley, 2 kilometres (15miles) from Gupis, you can trek east to Ishkoman or west over three passes to Mastuj. The jeep track from Yasin continues north up the Yasin Valley for 25kilometres (15miles) to Barkulti. A road forks left up the Thui Valley for 15kilometres (nine miles) to Nialti, from where it is possible to trek across the Thui Pass (4,499metres or 14,760 feet, above the sea level) to the Yarkun Valley in Chitral District.
Punial is the first kingdom to the west of Gilgit. It encompasses 12 villages and populations of 17,000.Its inhabitants call it ‘the place where heaven and earth meet’. Its capital is Sher Qila, 35 kilometers (22miles) from Gilgit. Sher Qila means Loin’s fort, so called because it proved so difficult to conquer.
Sher Qila boasts and impressive modern girls’ high school built by Aga Khan, which stands beside the now redundant polo ground; facing the polo ground is an old carved wooden mosque.
A 150-years-old watchtower, crowned with a pair of ibex horns, stands guard at the end of the ground, a reminder of past wars. The villagers took refuge in the tower whenever attacked.
The next important village in Punial is Singal; 16kilometres (ten miles) further west, where there is a guest house and a modern Aga Khan medical centre with solar heating.
Punial is full of orchards and small terraced fields and can easily be reached in a day trip from Gilgit. There is time to walk along the water channels, to look into a local flour mill or blacksmith’s forge, to watch the local ploughing or weaving in outdoor pitlooms, and to photograph rural life.
Gakuch, 72kilometres (45miles) from Gilgit, is the turning point for the jeep road north up the lovely Ishkoman Valley, another former kingdom. The PWD rest house at Chator Khnad, 24 kilometres (15miles) from Gakuch is the starting point for the five-day trek east to Naltar, across the 4,267metre (14,000-foot) Naltar Pass. The five-day trek west to Yasin across the 4,432metre (14,540-foot) Asambar Pass is green and easy all the way. At Chator Khand the road splits, right to limit, another starting point for a trek to Naltar, and left to the village of Ishkoman, from which you can trek to Yasin across the Ishkoman Pass.
Gopis, the next kingdom west along the Gilgit River, 108 kilometre (67miles) or six hours from Gilgit, is where you turn north for the Yasin Valley, yet another former kingdom. Water is plentiful here, making this perhaps the prettiest of all the Gilgit kingdoms: villagers are stacked up the mountainside and surrounded by steeply terraced fields.
From Yasin Valley, 2 kilometres (15miles) from Gupis, you can trek east to Ishkoman or west over three passes to Mastuj. The jeep track from Yasin continues north up the Yasin Valley for 25kilometres (15miles) to Barkulti. A road forks left up the Thui Valley for 15kilometres (nine miles) to Nialti, from where it is possible to trek across the Thui Pass (4,499metres or 14,760 feet, above the sea level) to the Yarkun Valley in Chitral District.
Nagar Valley
Altit Fort Hunza
Altit Fort is situated in the village of Altit, about 3 km from Karimabad. It has been built on a sheer rock-cliff that falls 300 meters (1000 feet) into the Hunza River, and is much older than the Baltit Fort.
View of Altit fort, with the central town to the right and below the fort. The extreme gullies, sharp drop-off, and location high above the river made this settlement highly defensible and an older settlement than many in the central valley.
Ganesh Valley Hunza
Six kilometers (4 miles) beyond Aliabad, the KKH makes a sweeping S-bend down past Ganish village to the bridge across the Hunza River. Ganesh, on fertile flat and above the river, is guarded by an old watchtower and fort. The old craved mosque is also worth a visit. In the pool in front of the tower all the local children learn to swim. Until this century boys had to swim across the Hunza River to prove that they could escape or attack across the river when necessary. Until the British came in 1891, the men of Hunza used to keep a sword, gun, shield and a loaf of bread (which was replaced every eight days) beside their doors; when the drums beat the alarm from Altit fort, heralding the approach of raiders, each man would grab these things and run for the fort. (Presumably his family went too.)
Like Gilgit Hunza was an important staging post on the Silk Route and was heavily travelled for thousands of years by traders going back and forth between China, India and the west over the Kilik, Mintaka, Parpik and Khunjerab passes.
The most convincing proof of this lies in the inscriptions on the Ganesh rock, a sort of Silk Route guest book. The rocks are immediately beside the KKH, between the road and the river, a few hundreds metres past the bridge across the Hunza River.
The inscriptions are in Khraoshthi, Brahmi, Gupta, Sogdian and Tibetan. Among them is a portrait of the first-century Kushan King of Gandhara, Gondophares. Another inscription reads ‘Chandra sri Vikramaditya conquers’; the date of the inscription corresponds to AD 419. Chandra sri Vikramaditya was Chandra Gupta II, the greatest of the Gupta emperors, who ruled our most of India in the already fifth century AD.
Most of the drawings are of hunting scenes with horses and riders shooting at ibex, ibex surrounded by horsemen, and men dancing around ibex. The ibex was extremely important to the people of Hunza, Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, and northern India, as it was believed to be the pet animal of the mountain fairies and symbolized fertility and prosperity. In the more remote parts of Hunza the people still perform ritual ibex dances: a holy man dons an ibex headdress and drinks ibex blood (or nowadays the blood of ordinary goat), then falls into a trance and proceeds to tell fortunes and answer questions about the future.
Gulmit Valley Upper Hunza
Gulmit (2,500 metres or 8,200 feet above the sea level), eight kilometers (five miles) past the bridge, is a fertile plateau with irrigated fields on either side of the road. Halfway between Gilgit and the Khunjerab Pass, it is a good place to spend a night or two.
The small museum belonging to the ex-ruler, Raja Bhadur Khan, is full of interesting ethnic artefacts--wooden bowls, spoons, and farm implements, woolen coats and embroidered hats and shawls. The Raja shows you round with charm and enthusiasm.
There are many walks along irrigation channels in the area, and the people are very friendly. One recommended walk in across Ghulkin Glacier to Boreet Lake, then across Passu Glacier and down to Passu village. For a longer walk continue from Passu Glacier across the Husseini Ridge to Yunzbin, at the bottom of Batura Glacier.
Passu Glacier Upper Hunza
Passu, 14 kilometres (nine miles) beyond Gulmit, is a village of farmers and mountains guides. This is the setting-off point for climbing expeditions up the Shimshal Valley and Batura Glacier.
For non-trekkers there are two easy walks from Passu. It takes about 20 minutes to scramble up through the rocks to the Passu Glacier, or an hour to follow the irrigation channel up to the Batura Glacier. Or you can wander through the small village of Passu, watch the villagers at work in the fields, and see yaks and dzos (yaks-cow hybrids).
The road to Shimshal leaves the KKH six kilometres (four miles) past Passu. Shimshal is an isolated, unspoiled valley, three to four days’ walk away through a narrow barren gorge. You need a guide to lead you in; once there you can take several different treks up to the surrounding glacier. The villagers of Shimshal currently building an access road from KKH.
SOST Valley Upper Hunza
The KKH passes through four more villages before reaching the immigration custom post at Sost, 34 kilometres (21miles) from Passu
Karakoram Highway
Nagar Valley
Across the Hunza River from Karimabad, lies the beautiful, unspoiled Nagar Valley. Traditionally the bitterest of foes, Hunzakurts and Nagarites have made peace in a manner typical of royalty, by marrying the princess of one to the king of the other.
Chalt is the last settlement in the old kingdom of Gilgit. Beyond it Hunza and Nagar begin, Hunza on the north side of Hunza River, and Nagar on the south. Nagar and Hunza were part of the same ancient kingdom, but they were separated in the 15th century under two warring brothers and have remained traditional enemies over since. This hostility is exacerbated by the fact that the Hunzakuts are Ismaili Muslims and followers of Aga Khan, while the Nagar people are Shias and admirers of the late Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran.
The KKH runs through Nagar territory for about 20 kilometres (12miles) before crossing over to Hunza Nazirabad on another of the elegant Chinese bridge guarded by two rows of ornamental lions. About one kilometer (half a miles) before the bridge a jeep road leads right up to Minapin, in Nagar, the starting point for the three-day trek up the Minapin Glacier.
On both sides of the river the cliffs are precipitous. The road climbs high up on the Hunza side with wonderful views Nagar settlements on the opposite bank and Rakaposhi rising up behind.
Altit Fort is situated in the village of Altit, about 3 km from Karimabad. It has been built on a sheer rock-cliff that falls 300 meters (1000 feet) into the Hunza River, and is much older than the Baltit Fort.
View of Altit fort, with the central town to the right and below the fort. The extreme gullies, sharp drop-off, and location high above the river made this settlement highly defensible and an older settlement than many in the central valley.
Ganesh Valley Hunza
Six kilometers (4 miles) beyond Aliabad, the KKH makes a sweeping S-bend down past Ganish village to the bridge across the Hunza River. Ganesh, on fertile flat and above the river, is guarded by an old watchtower and fort. The old craved mosque is also worth a visit. In the pool in front of the tower all the local children learn to swim. Until this century boys had to swim across the Hunza River to prove that they could escape or attack across the river when necessary. Until the British came in 1891, the men of Hunza used to keep a sword, gun, shield and a loaf of bread (which was replaced every eight days) beside their doors; when the drums beat the alarm from Altit fort, heralding the approach of raiders, each man would grab these things and run for the fort. (Presumably his family went too.)
Like Gilgit Hunza was an important staging post on the Silk Route and was heavily travelled for thousands of years by traders going back and forth between China, India and the west over the Kilik, Mintaka, Parpik and Khunjerab passes.
The most convincing proof of this lies in the inscriptions on the Ganesh rock, a sort of Silk Route guest book. The rocks are immediately beside the KKH, between the road and the river, a few hundreds metres past the bridge across the Hunza River.
The inscriptions are in Khraoshthi, Brahmi, Gupta, Sogdian and Tibetan. Among them is a portrait of the first-century Kushan King of Gandhara, Gondophares. Another inscription reads ‘Chandra sri Vikramaditya conquers’; the date of the inscription corresponds to AD 419. Chandra sri Vikramaditya was Chandra Gupta II, the greatest of the Gupta emperors, who ruled our most of India in the already fifth century AD.
Most of the drawings are of hunting scenes with horses and riders shooting at ibex, ibex surrounded by horsemen, and men dancing around ibex. The ibex was extremely important to the people of Hunza, Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, and northern India, as it was believed to be the pet animal of the mountain fairies and symbolized fertility and prosperity. In the more remote parts of Hunza the people still perform ritual ibex dances: a holy man dons an ibex headdress and drinks ibex blood (or nowadays the blood of ordinary goat), then falls into a trance and proceeds to tell fortunes and answer questions about the future.
Gulmit Valley Upper Hunza
Gulmit (2,500 metres or 8,200 feet above the sea level), eight kilometers (five miles) past the bridge, is a fertile plateau with irrigated fields on either side of the road. Halfway between Gilgit and the Khunjerab Pass, it is a good place to spend a night or two.
The small museum belonging to the ex-ruler, Raja Bhadur Khan, is full of interesting ethnic artefacts--wooden bowls, spoons, and farm implements, woolen coats and embroidered hats and shawls. The Raja shows you round with charm and enthusiasm.
There are many walks along irrigation channels in the area, and the people are very friendly. One recommended walk in across Ghulkin Glacier to Boreet Lake, then across Passu Glacier and down to Passu village. For a longer walk continue from Passu Glacier across the Husseini Ridge to Yunzbin, at the bottom of Batura Glacier.
Passu Glacier Upper Hunza
Passu, 14 kilometres (nine miles) beyond Gulmit, is a village of farmers and mountains guides. This is the setting-off point for climbing expeditions up the Shimshal Valley and Batura Glacier.
For non-trekkers there are two easy walks from Passu. It takes about 20 minutes to scramble up through the rocks to the Passu Glacier, or an hour to follow the irrigation channel up to the Batura Glacier. Or you can wander through the small village of Passu, watch the villagers at work in the fields, and see yaks and dzos (yaks-cow hybrids).
The road to Shimshal leaves the KKH six kilometres (four miles) past Passu. Shimshal is an isolated, unspoiled valley, three to four days’ walk away through a narrow barren gorge. You need a guide to lead you in; once there you can take several different treks up to the surrounding glacier. The villagers of Shimshal currently building an access road from KKH.
SOST Valley Upper Hunza
The KKH passes through four more villages before reaching the immigration custom post at Sost, 34 kilometres (21miles) from Passu
Karakoram Highway
Nagar Valley
Across the Hunza River from Karimabad, lies the beautiful, unspoiled Nagar Valley. Traditionally the bitterest of foes, Hunzakurts and Nagarites have made peace in a manner typical of royalty, by marrying the princess of one to the king of the other.
Chalt is the last settlement in the old kingdom of Gilgit. Beyond it Hunza and Nagar begin, Hunza on the north side of Hunza River, and Nagar on the south. Nagar and Hunza were part of the same ancient kingdom, but they were separated in the 15th century under two warring brothers and have remained traditional enemies over since. This hostility is exacerbated by the fact that the Hunzakuts are Ismaili Muslims and followers of Aga Khan, while the Nagar people are Shias and admirers of the late Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran.
The KKH runs through Nagar territory for about 20 kilometres (12miles) before crossing over to Hunza Nazirabad on another of the elegant Chinese bridge guarded by two rows of ornamental lions. About one kilometer (half a miles) before the bridge a jeep road leads right up to Minapin, in Nagar, the starting point for the three-day trek up the Minapin Glacier.
On both sides of the river the cliffs are precipitous. The road climbs high up on the Hunza side with wonderful views Nagar settlements on the opposite bank and Rakaposhi rising up behind.
Karakoram Highway
The souls that paved the way for the modern tarmac road named the Karakoram Highway still seem to flicker amongst the sharp moving shadows of the unstable rocks and the almost countless but crumbly lucent glaciers that constantly threaten it's existence. There has always been a long pass into, and out of China over what is sometimes called the 'roof of the world' but in ancient times it was a very perilous pathway.
Extant writings, etched in a fourth century A.D. Chinese travelers diary, record ' The trail was very precipitous, and vertigo accompanied us as we edged along it...' The path was certainly narrow, and often clung to the sheer faces of the many deep resonant gorges that still confine their turgid, animated rivers. Even today, one can still see vestiges of an old crumbling trail high up above the present road. Although it is not the same trail that this particular merchant scrabbled breathlessly along, if one scrambles up to it and edges along it for a few meters, one can experience the same feelings of dizziness and danger that the diarist wrote about.
The new wide metal led road also winds along high palisade like cliffs in some places, and sometimes short sections of the tarmac rumble down into the river below or become buried under tones of rock and mud. However a modern traveler on this modern road will not experience the same fear or vertigo as the ancients.
The present highway is also popularly called the 'Silk Route' by many romantics because it approximates the trail of what was once one of the many silk, jade and spice carrying caravan trails that congregated somewhere near Xian, in China, and terminated in the vicinity of modern Syria on the Mediterranean sea coast. Like long lines of exploring ants, determined traders, merchants, and adventurers wore a path through narrow gorges, high grass sheathed valleys, across waterless deserts, around 6,000 meter - and higher mountains, and over raging rivers in pursuit of barter.
The passage of time hasn't altered any of these geophysical conditions, nor were the reasons for building this new road (apart from its obvious military significance) any different from the ancients reasons for undertaking such a hazardous journey. The new road was built to facilitate trade between China and Pakistan.
Tourist literature published by the Pakistan Tourist Authorities states t
Tourist literature published by the Pakistan Tourist Authorities states that the road took twenty years to build. The pamphlets also mention the amount of earth moved, rocks blasted out of the way and more poignantly, the number of men and women, both Pakistani and Chinese who died in this great joint engineering feat.
Although the brochures write that it 'took twenty years to build', the road is in fact never finished! Because of the uniqueness of it's geophysical surroundings, constant natural activity frequently destroys sections of the highway. A small army of workers are on hand to reroute the road and join the new sections to the ends of the undamaged highway. The road in other words, is constantly being moved!
Put very simply, the road meanders through an area where highly active tectonic plate pressure is causing mountains to grow faster than the elements can wear them down! Swift flowing rivers and the measurable movements of glaciers crush, undercut and wash away the sides of these same mountains contributing to the constant rock falls and landslides that changes the face of the land almost daily! This uniquely accelerated geological activity can be felt, seen, and heard if one sits quietly on any high vantage point for a few hours. The road is in fact an observable reflection of man's incessant, but unequal struggle against nature's transcendental power.
Starting near Rawalpindi, the bitumen sealed motorway winds through gently rolling, sandy foothills for approximately one hundred and twenty kilometers before intersecting the Indus river. (Called the 'Sind' by the Urdu language speaking Pakistanis) it then twines along the Indus's arc north eastward to within forty kilometers of the town of Gilgit.
Between these two points, (about four hundred kilometers) the road sometimes takes on a 'roller-coaster' aspect as it dips into, and out of the Indus's wide river bed. The final dip is at this forty kilometers point when the road joins the Gilgit river and continues to within twelve kilometers of the town of that name, then swings North, crossing the Gilgit river to join the Hunza river. The town of Gilgit is twelve kilometers off the actual Karakoram highway and is reached by a fairly smoothly laid and slightly inclined tarred road.
Although the Karakoram Highway inclines upwards the whole way to the pass it's not until you get close to Gilgit that you begin to feel as if you are in mountains. Even so, the town is only at one thousand, five hundred meters (approx. five thousand feet) elevation and there is still a feeling of being in desert. The barren, dust laden and tan colored hills that surround the area give the impression of being made from sand, however, it only takes a ride of a couple of kilometers north from Gilgit for one to get the impression of being in 'real' mountains - very high, and very sheer mountains.
This is not to say that the actual road itself is steep - it's not, it's just that the demarcation between the almost sand dune like foothills, and the seemingly abrupt line of six to eight thousand meters high glacier and snow plaited mountains is almost overpoweringly awesome.
The road then accompanies the Hunza river through these mountains, climbing gently almost all the way to the 4,700 metre high Khunjerab Pass. Only during the last twenty-odd kilometers from the top of the pass will you find short stretches of consistently steep road gradients of six to fourteen degrees. At the top of the pass, two tall memorial stones show that this is the convenient dividing line between political Pakistan, and political China. Both countries respective customs and immigration posts are some kilometers away on their respective sides of the pass. Sust, the Pakistan customs post is ninety kilometres before the peak. Tax organ, the Chinese customs post and town of that name, is one hundred and thirty kilometers from the peak.
The pass also separates two differently named mountain ranges, the Karakoram range (on the Pakistani side), from the Pamir in China. Within these two massive ranges, there are other named but smaller clusters of rugged mountains, and a quick glance at a map can confuse one as there is no illustrated way that one can separate one range from the next.
On the Chinese side of the pass the road is given a different name by the Chinese, who call it, loosely translated, 'The Big Pakistan/China Friendship Road'. This continuation of the Karakoram is also smoothly finished and well graded. It scrolls up and down through generally wide valleys for approximately four hundred and fifty kilometers to the camel market town of Kashgar, which is in the mostly Taklamakan desert filled Chinese province of Xingjian.
As most travelers consider the Karakoram highway and the Big Pakistan-China Friendship Road to be one and the same, I have done so in this guide, with the exception that I refer to the Chinese road's by their route numbers. All Chinese roads have designated route numbers and periodic 'kilometer' markers tell you what numbered road, or track you are on at any given time, for example, the Chinese side of the Karakoram road is route number 314, and you can stay on this route half way across China.
The actual kilometer numbers on the stones don't seem to make any sense, and they certainly did not usually reflect accuracy as compared to both of our cyclometers, which always came out to within a hundred or so meters of each another at the end of every day. The numbers on the stones often showed a ten or fifteen kilometer difference to our daily total.
Extant writings, etched in a fourth century A.D. Chinese travelers diary, record ' The trail was very precipitous, and vertigo accompanied us as we edged along it...' The path was certainly narrow, and often clung to the sheer faces of the many deep resonant gorges that still confine their turgid, animated rivers. Even today, one can still see vestiges of an old crumbling trail high up above the present road. Although it is not the same trail that this particular merchant scrabbled breathlessly along, if one scrambles up to it and edges along it for a few meters, one can experience the same feelings of dizziness and danger that the diarist wrote about.
The new wide metal led road also winds along high palisade like cliffs in some places, and sometimes short sections of the tarmac rumble down into the river below or become buried under tones of rock and mud. However a modern traveler on this modern road will not experience the same fear or vertigo as the ancients.
The present highway is also popularly called the 'Silk Route' by many romantics because it approximates the trail of what was once one of the many silk, jade and spice carrying caravan trails that congregated somewhere near Xian, in China, and terminated in the vicinity of modern Syria on the Mediterranean sea coast. Like long lines of exploring ants, determined traders, merchants, and adventurers wore a path through narrow gorges, high grass sheathed valleys, across waterless deserts, around 6,000 meter - and higher mountains, and over raging rivers in pursuit of barter.
The passage of time hasn't altered any of these geophysical conditions, nor were the reasons for building this new road (apart from its obvious military significance) any different from the ancients reasons for undertaking such a hazardous journey. The new road was built to facilitate trade between China and Pakistan.
Tourist literature published by the Pakistan Tourist Authorities states t
Tourist literature published by the Pakistan Tourist Authorities states that the road took twenty years to build. The pamphlets also mention the amount of earth moved, rocks blasted out of the way and more poignantly, the number of men and women, both Pakistani and Chinese who died in this great joint engineering feat.
Although the brochures write that it 'took twenty years to build', the road is in fact never finished! Because of the uniqueness of it's geophysical surroundings, constant natural activity frequently destroys sections of the highway. A small army of workers are on hand to reroute the road and join the new sections to the ends of the undamaged highway. The road in other words, is constantly being moved!
Put very simply, the road meanders through an area where highly active tectonic plate pressure is causing mountains to grow faster than the elements can wear them down! Swift flowing rivers and the measurable movements of glaciers crush, undercut and wash away the sides of these same mountains contributing to the constant rock falls and landslides that changes the face of the land almost daily! This uniquely accelerated geological activity can be felt, seen, and heard if one sits quietly on any high vantage point for a few hours. The road is in fact an observable reflection of man's incessant, but unequal struggle against nature's transcendental power.
Starting near Rawalpindi, the bitumen sealed motorway winds through gently rolling, sandy foothills for approximately one hundred and twenty kilometers before intersecting the Indus river. (Called the 'Sind' by the Urdu language speaking Pakistanis) it then twines along the Indus's arc north eastward to within forty kilometers of the town of Gilgit.
Between these two points, (about four hundred kilometers) the road sometimes takes on a 'roller-coaster' aspect as it dips into, and out of the Indus's wide river bed. The final dip is at this forty kilometers point when the road joins the Gilgit river and continues to within twelve kilometers of the town of that name, then swings North, crossing the Gilgit river to join the Hunza river. The town of Gilgit is twelve kilometers off the actual Karakoram highway and is reached by a fairly smoothly laid and slightly inclined tarred road.
Although the Karakoram Highway inclines upwards the whole way to the pass it's not until you get close to Gilgit that you begin to feel as if you are in mountains. Even so, the town is only at one thousand, five hundred meters (approx. five thousand feet) elevation and there is still a feeling of being in desert. The barren, dust laden and tan colored hills that surround the area give the impression of being made from sand, however, it only takes a ride of a couple of kilometers north from Gilgit for one to get the impression of being in 'real' mountains - very high, and very sheer mountains.
This is not to say that the actual road itself is steep - it's not, it's just that the demarcation between the almost sand dune like foothills, and the seemingly abrupt line of six to eight thousand meters high glacier and snow plaited mountains is almost overpoweringly awesome.
The road then accompanies the Hunza river through these mountains, climbing gently almost all the way to the 4,700 metre high Khunjerab Pass. Only during the last twenty-odd kilometers from the top of the pass will you find short stretches of consistently steep road gradients of six to fourteen degrees. At the top of the pass, two tall memorial stones show that this is the convenient dividing line between political Pakistan, and political China. Both countries respective customs and immigration posts are some kilometers away on their respective sides of the pass. Sust, the Pakistan customs post is ninety kilometres before the peak. Tax organ, the Chinese customs post and town of that name, is one hundred and thirty kilometers from the peak.
The pass also separates two differently named mountain ranges, the Karakoram range (on the Pakistani side), from the Pamir in China. Within these two massive ranges, there are other named but smaller clusters of rugged mountains, and a quick glance at a map can confuse one as there is no illustrated way that one can separate one range from the next.
On the Chinese side of the pass the road is given a different name by the Chinese, who call it, loosely translated, 'The Big Pakistan/China Friendship Road'. This continuation of the Karakoram is also smoothly finished and well graded. It scrolls up and down through generally wide valleys for approximately four hundred and fifty kilometers to the camel market town of Kashgar, which is in the mostly Taklamakan desert filled Chinese province of Xingjian.
As most travelers consider the Karakoram highway and the Big Pakistan-China Friendship Road to be one and the same, I have done so in this guide, with the exception that I refer to the Chinese road's by their route numbers. All Chinese roads have designated route numbers and periodic 'kilometer' markers tell you what numbered road, or track you are on at any given time, for example, the Chinese side of the Karakoram road is route number 314, and you can stay on this route half way across China.
The actual kilometer numbers on the stones don't seem to make any sense, and they certainly did not usually reflect accuracy as compared to both of our cyclometers, which always came out to within a hundred or so meters of each another at the end of every day. The numbers on the stones often showed a ten or fifteen kilometer difference to our daily total.
SOST Valley Upper Hunza
The KKH passes through four more villages before reaching the immigration custom post at Sost, 34 kilometres (21miles) from Passu
Passu Glacier Upper Hunza
Passu, 14 kilometres (nine miles) beyond Gulmit, is a village of farmers and mountains guides. This is the setting-off point for climbing expeditions up the Shimshal Valley and Batura Glacier.
For non-trekkers there are two easy walks from Passu. It takes about 20 minutes to scramble up through the rocks to the Passu Glacier, or an hour to follow the irrigation channel up to the Batura Glacier. Or you can wander through the small village of Passu, watch the villagers at work in the fields, and see yaks and dzos (yaks-cow hybrids).
The road to Shimshal leaves the KKH six kilometres (four miles) past Passu. Shimshal is an isolated, unspoiled valley, three to four days’ walk away through a narrow barren gorge. You need a guide to lead you in; once there you can take several different treks up to the surrounding glacier. The villagers of Shimshal currently building an access road from KKH.
For non-trekkers there are two easy walks from Passu. It takes about 20 minutes to scramble up through the rocks to the Passu Glacier, or an hour to follow the irrigation channel up to the Batura Glacier. Or you can wander through the small village of Passu, watch the villagers at work in the fields, and see yaks and dzos (yaks-cow hybrids).
The road to Shimshal leaves the KKH six kilometres (four miles) past Passu. Shimshal is an isolated, unspoiled valley, three to four days’ walk away through a narrow barren gorge. You need a guide to lead you in; once there you can take several different treks up to the surrounding glacier. The villagers of Shimshal currently building an access road from KKH.
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