Are you bored of the haphazard city life and need an escape?? Then, Gilgit Baltistan is the solution to all your problems. Gilgit is like a paradise for tourists from around the world. We began our journey from Lahore with a perfect plan of crazy travelling. The trip was seven days and eight nights long, in which we had to cover everything between Lahore and the Great Pak-China Border.
The Astor Rama Valley is a beautiful valley, green and luscious with perfect weather. We later went to the Rama meadows which took us about a 2 to 3 hour trek to reach. The trek was hectic and beyond words to describe but when we reached the meadows, we were amazed by the beauty of nature. The meadows are just like a piece of heaven on earth. It was worth trekking for, we loved the place and the most beautiful thing was the Rama Lake. It was breathtaking and amazing with a wide blue water body. The best part was the view of the ‘KILLER’ mountain called NANGA PARBAT. Hiding in the clouds, standing with pride and whenever clouds let him shine, mark my words you will never ever want to leave that place with such an eye catching view.
Karimabad in Hunza is our next destination. Karimabad is one of the special places to visit. The people were wonderful and were very friendly. Not only do they welcome Pakistanis’, but they also host almost hundreds of foreigner trekkers and tourists every year. The Altit and the Baltit Fort are places which should not be missed if you are in Hunza. These forts give you a perfect insight about the heritage and the culture of the people residing there and the past. Altit Fort is an ancient fort at Altit town in the Hunza valley in Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan. It was originally home to the hereditary rulers of the Hunza state who carried the title Mir, although they moved to the somewhat younger Baltit Fort nearby three centuries later. Altit Fort and in particular the Shikari Tower is around 1100 years old, which makes it the oldest monument in the Gilgit Baltistan region. The Baltit Fort is an ancient fort in the Hunza valley. Founded in the 1st CE, since 2004, it has been on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative list. In the past, the survival of the feudal regime of Hunza was ensured by the impressive Baltit Fort, which overlooks Karimabad. The foundations of the fort date back to 700 years ago, with rebuilds and alterations over the centuries. In the 16th century, the local prince married a princess from Baltistan who brought master Balti craftsmen to renovate the building as part of her dowry.
The nights were spent listening to Gilgit’s traditional music, where the local musicians presented soothing melodies to us. The people there really love to show their culture in every form like music and dance. They feel no hesitation what so ever. We loved the whole ambiance created by the locals and especially the dance routines on their culture beats.
Our next destination was the PAK-CHINA border. For that we had to cross the historical Attabad Lake. Attabad Lake is in the Gojal sector, and is also known as the Gojal Lake. It is a lake in the Gojal Valley of northern Pakistan, and it was created due to a massive landslide in the Attabad village on the 4th of January, 2010. The landslide killed twenty people and blocked the flow of the Hunza River for five months. The flooding displaced 6,000 people from upstream villages, stranded (from land transportation routes) a further 25,000, and inundated over 12 miles of the Karakoram Highway. The lake reached 13 miles long and over 100 meters in depth by the first week of June 2010 when it began flowing over the landslide dam, completely submerging lower Shishkat and partly flooding Gulmit. The subdivision of Gojal had the greatest number of flooded buildings, over 170 houses, and 120 shops. The residents also had shortages of food and other items due to the blockage of the Karakoram Highway. By the 4th of June, the water outflow from the lake had increased to 3,700 cu ft/s.
Finally we reached the border, travelling via the ‘SILK ROUTE’, also called the Karakoram Highway. The Karakoram Highway (KKH) is one of the highest paved international roads in the world. It connects Sinkiang Uighur of China and Gilgit Baltistan of Pakistan across the Karakoram mountain range, through the Khunjerab Pass. Connecting China’s Xinjiang region with the Gilgit Baltistan region of Pakistan, the road is a popular tourist attraction. Due to its high elevation and the difficult conditions in which it was constructed, it is also referred to as the Eighth Wonder of the World. The Karakoram Highway is known informally as the KKH; within Pakistan it is known officially as the N-35, while within China, it is known officially as China National Highway 314 (G314). It is also a part of the Asian Highway AH4. We enjoyed the ride by sitting up on the roof and seriously it was a wonderful experience. By the time we got to the border we were very tired but it did not matter because the place was truly mesmerizing.
Contributed by: Team Kluchit.
