Mark Twain once said, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”
These words ring true on so many levels. All one has to do is get up, hop on a plane or a train and just go somewhere to get away from the life that seems to be leeching the life from your body, oh the irony.
In the month of August, I got to travel to the Northern Parts of my Country i.e. go to Hunza, Gilgit Baltistan. I traveled with a group of around 30 people, mostly girls and the trip was organized by Destination Baanway for our university department.
The trip certainly changed my views on many things, as initially when I was planning for the trip many people asked me if it was safe to go there, and we’re worried about the kind of clothes to take in order to stay safe from the cold and not offend the conservative people in those areas. But what I found was completely different and eye opening. So here I am trying to document my adventure.
All Aboard the Green Train
We started our little journey from the Karachi, a city that touches the Arabian sea via the Greenline Train. The train departed from the Karachi Cant. Station at 10PM, 15th of August. The train compartments were on a sharing basis and big enough for 6 people to sleep in.
The trip had a lot of firsts for me, I was traveling alone for the first time and it was my first time in a train as well. The Greenline Train was certainly more than what was expected, as it was clean, air conditioned, and very safe to travel in.
It took us about 22 hours or so to reach Islamabad, and throughout the whole train ride we were given breakfast, tea and lunch courtesy of the train. However, if you ever plan on traveling via train in Pakistan do not buy the bottle of coca cola they sell. Trust me.
Islamabad – Monal
We reached Islamabad around 9PM the next day. With the group’s discretion, we all headed to Monal, a restuarant on the Pirsohawa amid the Margilla hills. This is the go-to place for people visiting Islamabad, and the view is spectacular no matter what time you visit this place.
I always get their cheese naan when I go, as they are so hot and gooey. Sadly, I have no pictures of that.
Naran Valley
We left the restaurant after midnight and it took us around 10-11 hours to reach Naran Valley, another beautiful place. We only stopped there for a late breakfast. On route to Naran we passed by Abbottabad, Manshera, Kaghan Valley; we didn’t really stop at those places expect at Manshera to have tea at 5am just as the sun was about to come at some random dhabba.
Babusar Top
We began our journey to Hunza via Babusar. It is one of the highest point in the Kaghan Valley and connects it to the Karakoram Highway via Chillas.
It is a beautiful place, very windy and green. You can stop here for a cup of coffee, tea and some snacks.
Hunza
We reached Hunza at night around 9-10PM. Safe to say, we all were pretty exhausted as we went to bed soon after we ate dinner. We stayed at the White Apricot hotel in Aliabad Hunza, near Altit Fort, for two nights.
The next day, after breakfast we explored the city. Right after breakfast, my group of friends went out to take a look at the local school right besides our school, the kids and the parents were absolutely a delight to talk to and some of the most beautiful people ever.
I must add that, Hunza has the highest literacy rate in Pakistan i.e. almost a 100%. The locals are nothing but respectful and it is very safe to roam around.
We were also invited by one local to visit his orchid, and meet his family; such warm and welcoming they were.
After that little adventure of ours, we left to see the Altit Fort. Altit Fort is one of the oldest forts in the Region of Gilgit Baltistan, it is said to about a thousand years old and was home to the hereditary rulers of Hunza. Inside the fort, there is a wall where the King buried his brother alive for treason against him.
The doors to the fort were very small, one had to bend down to enter/exit through them. As stated by the tour guide the reasons for that are:
- For protection, so if the fort is ransacked by an enemy and they try to enter the fort they have to bend down. This will slow them down, and they can be immediately captured.
- A form of respect, the locals believe that people should always be respectful of the place they visit; and what is a better way to show something/someone respect than to bow down when entering.
- To keep the temperature of the rooms intact during the harsh winters.
After visiting the fort, we headed to take a look at the Ciqam Woodworks, an initiative to sustain the poor households in the city by empowering women. To earn more about Ciqam you can check out my previous post. The place was a little treat on its own, and we would had never seen it or even heard of it weren’t for Destination Baanway.
Next stop on the agenda was the Baltit Fort in Karimabad. Another beautiful fort, that spoke of tradition and culture. Overlooking Karimabad, the Baltit Fort was part of the dowry, when the local prince married a princess from the Batitsan region.
After Baltit, as we headed downwards we stopped at Cafe de Hunza. Where we had to try their famous walnut cake. Again, I don’t have a picture of the cafe or the cake itself. The cafe has quite a view, perfect to enjoy a cup of coffee and is quite homely and cute.
We then headed towards a hotel called Eagle’s Nest, but before stopping there we went to Duikar point, just behind the hotel and were treated to an excellent view of the city.
At the Eagle’s Nest, we had our tea and snacks and just generally relaxed after hours of walking around. My friends and I found their terrace, thanks to a local there. The terrace was quite high and with the sun gone, stars shining bright, we got to see so many shooting stars in one sitting. We put on some good music, and just spent the next hour looking up at the heaven. The weather was cool, and it felt like we were very far away from all the chaos in the world.
As the day came to an end, we headed back to our hotel for dinner and to prepare for what was to come the next day!
Trek to Rakaposhi Basecamp
Even though we were advised to get a good night’s sleep the night before, I doubt anyone listened and the next day after a hearty breakfast of parathas and eggs we headed out to for the trek that was in store for us. We were briefed about the trek, the do’s and don’ts the night before.
The trek took us hours and hours, the group was split in to small portions with the local guides and experienced trekkers. It was a first time trekking trip for almost everyone, we city folks are very lazy.
We were treated to maggi and tea on our way to the basecamp at a place called Hapakun. It was a meadow that was basically the midpoint and a resting place before heading out for the basecamp. The last leg of the trek was pretty tiring and scary, with the trail being very narrow, allowing only one person to walk at a time.
When we reached, the camps were already set up for us. For dinner, the tour guides had arranged a barebque for us. The temperature over there was -7 degrees Celsius, and reaching the basecamp for us was an achievement in itself.
The trek downwards took lesser time, but was a bit tricky with the gravity being both our friend and enemy. But we did it! what an accomplish it was.
Our legs felt like jelly by the end of it, and we were all burnt and somewhere also broken (nothing major, foot injuries). The trek to Rakaposhi is something, we all will definitely talk about for years to come.
Gulmit
After concluding our trek we headed to Gulmit, a small town that is the tourist hotspot and over looks a river, mountains and glaciers.
The hotel we stayed at was the Gulmit Tourist Inn, that provided the perfect view of the Pasu Cones. The view from the hotel was absolutely breathtaking, but this was the was everywhere one set their eye.
For the day we headed out to the famous Attabad Lake. Interesting fact about the lake is that this lake did not exist before 2010, and was formed after the floods that year. The flood took away lives of many people, but left something absolutely breathtaking in the wake of tragedy.
At Attabad lake, we were treated to a boat ride around the lake. The boats as seen from the pictures were vibrant and colorful.
A separate boat was equipped for refreshments such as tea and coffee, and lively music.
After spending a good chunk of the day at Attabad and amidst the blue water. We were subjected to test ourselves again.
But this time at the Hussaini Bridge. The Hussaini Bridge is considered one of the most deadliest suspension bridge in the world, and adventures come to bridge to test their limits. However, crossing the bridge is a piece of cake for the locals.
Crossing the bridge was not an easy task for me, and I was unable to do so. However the guides did try their best to help me out. I shall always regret not crossing over to the other side, but perhaps one day if I go again, I am going to do it.
The thing about this bridge is if you make it to the otherside, you have to come back via this bridge only. There is no other way to get back. So think twice before you head out.
We saw the sunset over there, and as we headed back to the hotel we were given the option of either walking to the hotel or taking the van. While the majority chose to go back to the hotel via van, my friends and I along with a few other started off for the hotel on foot.
The experience was certainly one of it’s kind. Walking along the Karakoram highway, under the sky that seemed to blanketed with stars was mesmerizing. Keeping in mind that it was a highway we had to stick to one left side of the highway all the time.
The walk back to the hotel took us half an hour, as we were in no rush. The serenity of the moment and the merry laughter was something that no one wanted to give up. We had a couple of songs playing out loud and it is safe to say that listening to these songs back home always fill me up with a sense of nostalgia.
This was one of the moments where you just live. No pictures, no nothing except some very great memories.
Kunjerab Pass and the Last Day In Hunza
The following day, after almost no sleep because why not? We headed out to Kunjerab Pass.
Kunjerab Pass is the the Pakistan China border located among the mountains and glaciers.
It is a very popular tourist destination, and before the actual border comes, there is the Kunjerab National Park that is basically a stopping point where one can stop for snacks, take a look at the ibex also known as Marcopolo; the national animal of Pakistan, as he roams around the mountains.
On your way there, we got to see the Pasu Cones up close.
At the Kunjerab Pass itself, the weather was extremely cold and windy.
The journey to and back Kunjerab was of four hours both ways. So safe to say it took most of our day.
We headed back to the hotel to get ready for the bonfire that Destination Baanway had arranged.
We got to listen to the students of Bulbulik live and they sang their local songs for us and got to listen to the song the they produced with Patari, Pakistan’s first music streaming app.
The bonfire was a very bittersweet kind of event. It was safe to say that no one felt like going back to their busy lives in Karachi.
Naran – Once Again.
We took the same route we came from, and therefore ended up at Naran the following day after the sun had set. Which was a little sad, cause if we had made it there before that we could had definitely squeezed a little excursion to Lake Saif-ul- Maluk.
However after reaching the place and hotel where we started our journey up north, we were treated to some very spicy briyani and cold coke.
We headed out to the market late at night to explore what the shops had to offer and treated ourselves some fries, ice cream and coffee in the crisp weather.
Gloria jeans is a famous coffee shop in Karachi and this not a franchise of the brand. However the coffee was just as good and at a great price!
After prancing around the valley all night, we head out bright and early for Islamabad in order to get home and back to our dull lives.
The trip to Hunza was certainly the sorts that broke all the stereotypes we had built for the people living in these areas. The people are extremely kind and so respectful of the ladies, not to mention so hospitable. Their inner beauty is a direct reflection of their outer one. We all roamed around in jeans and shirts, and not once we’re we subjected to any sort of catcalling or evil stares. Walking around Hunza and on the Karakoram highway, we werent afraid of getting mugged and kidnapped. One got to be truly be free of all the tension the city life brings into our life.
So if you live in Pakistan and haven’t been to Hunza, so start planning a trip right now! And if you are a foreigner, come and see for yourself what Pakistan has to offer instead of believing the news.
Musings Of A Girl 
Loved reading this so much! It was always my dream to visit Hunza and Gilgit but I haven’t had the opportunity yet
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Thank you! I am glad you enjoyed it. You should definitely go, you will fall in love with the place.
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