In 2023 I travelled to Pakistan. The day before I was due to leave I was a little nervous as the ex-PM had just been arrested there and all sorts of violent protests were kicking off and the police had blocked many roads, including in Islamabad where I was flying in to. However things had died down a little by the time I arrived although the 40 minute drive from the airport to the hotel took more than 2 hours due to roads still being blocked!
We primarily explored Northern Pakistan, initially heading North West to the Swat Valley, up towards the Kalash valley boarding Afghanistan, and then clockwise across the Hindu Kush and Karakoram mountains to Hunza, before looping back down to the capital.
When we visited the Kalash their Joshi (Spring) Festival was in full swing with lots of dancing and various ceremonies taking place. With only little more than 5,000 Kalash left its unsure how long the colourful and friendly ethnic tribe will continue to exist. As we moved into the mountains the scenery stunned at every bumpy, dusty turn of the road with multiple snow-capped peaks in excess of 7,000m
Here’s a short video I took of some of the Kalash Joshi Festival and below you can see photos from the trip. There’s also a day by day travel blog here.
The lake is relatively new, formed after a large landslide in 2010 blocked the river. It initially flooded a lot of villages upstream until a slipway was dug out.
Another old fort rebuilt as a guest house. Its owned by one of the Princes of Chitral who is also mad about his gardening.
Perched below the mighty Ultar Sar (7,388m) the Baltit Fort dates back to the 8th Century CE and is on the tentative list of UNESCO Heritage sites.
A local stands on a pinnacle of rock overlooking the valley leading up to the snow covered Buni Zom, a 6,500m mountain
We needed the jeeps as many of the roads were just compact earth, very dusty, and extremely bumpy!
For the Joshi (Spring) Festival the women put on an extra effort and add sashes and more elaborate headdresses
The mosuq is the largest in South Asia and designed to look like a Bedouin tent. The mosque can accommodate about 300,000 worshippers.
A view of the Golden Peak or Spantik (7,027m) from the top of Baltit Fort in Hunza
These four were heading to the festival dancing area to celebrate the Joshi (Spring) Festival
The glacier is quite dark compared to other glaciers due to dirt and dust within the ice. Like many glaciers its receeding year by year
A family look out from the viewpoint in the Daman-e-Koh park high above Islamabad.
Driving from Ayun to the Kalash valley
A brief respite from the dusty bumpy roads to appreciate the view
The Kalash are a pagan tribe and the women wear these colourful dresses
The Kalash are a pagan tribe and the women wear these colourful dresses
The men don’t dress as colourfully as the women but do wear the traditional pashtun hats with a feather at the front
One of our hosts with his extra large feather in his hat for the festival!
One part of the Kalash village (the rest is behind). The snow covered mountain in the background represents the border the Afghanistan
One of the smaller mountains we saw in Hunza – Hunza Peak stands at 6,270m.
Young boys from Ghalegay who had been watching the tourists wander around the Shingardar Stupa
