the text below is re-posted from maree's original post at IndiaMike (maree is a New Zealand lady living in BKK). I found it helpful -and reassuring - in planning my first trip to Pakistan
Gilgit - great base for northern Pakistan. The Madina Guest House is as good as the guidebooks say and Mr Yaqoob is a real sweetie. We stayed there on 6 separate occasions and he always gave us welcome tea when we arrived. The rooms are great, theres a huge buffet meal served every night and the staff is great. You can also organise treks from there and jeep drivers to anywhere.
Treks loads of places for this. Four of us chose to trek up the Bagrote valley to Diran base camp (above 3 glaciers and below Diran and Rakaposhi). We were the first to trek this route for the season and possibly the only ones to do it. trekking in Pak is not like Nepal. You dont meet anyone else except the odd goat herder. We were right in amongst the mountains the whole time and camped at deserted shepherd huts. We took a guide (mandatory for this trek as your walking over glaciers a lot of the time) and, as 3 of us were basically lazy people, a couple of porters. For the 5 day trek, including transport, food, guide, porters and tent hire it cost under US$60 each good value, I say. Another good side trip from Gilgit where you can do some long or some short walks is the Naltar Valley alpine meadows and even a few ski lifts apparently the Pak army do their ski training here but in summer there isnt a sign of them.
Karakoram Highway blew me away. How did they ever get this road through? Theyve carved a road through a tectonic collision zone and they can, generally, keep it open. The mountains come right down to the road so the views out the bus window are awesome.
Shandur Polo Festival if youre there at the right time then this is an absolute must. Its hard to imagine that there could be a more beautiful spot for a sporting event mountains, lake, polo ground, blue sky and 10,000 Pakistani men ( us women were very much out numbered!). General Musharraf (he only declared himself president 2 weeks later) showed up for the final and the match was fantastic. Id never even seen polo before but Im a Gilgit supporter forever now (and they won). Its a 2 day trip up to the pass from Gilgit and the roads are crap but the views are stunning and the drivers are fantastic.
Hunza Valley another beautiful place stay in Altit rather than Karimabad and also go up to Eagles Nest (Melishkar) for a night or two great sunsets/sunrises and a cherry tree right outside (stone fruit season while I was there apricots, cherries yummo).
Passu my favourite small place on the side of the highway where nothing much happens but the views are once again awesome. You can do a day walk which takes you across the river and back over some crazy swingbridges (as seen on cover of LP Karakoram Highway) not for the fainthearted if its windy (and some people even freak out on a calm day). The Yunz Valley day trek is also good a long day but you get good views of the white Passu Glacier and the dark Batura Glacier. The best thing about Passu for me though was Akber Shah who owns the Passu Peak Inn where we stayed a lovelier man you wouldnt find anywhere. After 25 years in the army he was pensioned out and now runs this small guesthouse in the middle of nowhere. He makes the best potato curry in Pakistan, will talk all night if you want and will flag down a truck or jeep and get them to buy you cigarettes in the next large town. He really is a true gentleman.
Baltistan worth the long trip from Gilgit (one of my best memories of Pakistan is in the bus with my feet out the window, eating cherries that people kept giving me, spitting out the pits with good music on my Discman bliss). At the Karakoram Inn in Skardu, Skandur can get hold of a jeep and take you out to Satpara Lake and the seventh century Buddha carvings. The village of Khapalu is a good side trip from Skardu.
North West Frontier Province we finally left the Northern Areas and went back over the Shandur Pass to Chitral (very sad to leave the Madina for the last time. From Chitral we travelled to Balanguru in the Rumbur Valley. This is a Kalash settlement. The Kalasha are not Muslim and have their own distinctive costumes and customs. They are also extremely friendly and welcoming. Had a great time just hanging out with the women and children laughing and singing (they were great and we were crap). Saifullah Jans guesthouse is fantastic he has become a spokesman for the Kalasha in their fight against logging interests.
Peshawar possibly the highlight of a years travel for me (not just in Pak and India). Wed met an Indonesian woman who lived there and she invited us to stay and so we did for 3 weeks. Shed lived there for years (husband headed up an NGO) and so we met so many lovely locals (as opposed to lovely people who worked in the guesthouses). A room of my own (with airconditioning Peshawar is HOT), Western alcohol (remember, Pakistan is dry), the Peshawar markets, the Gandharan Buddhas at the Peshawar museum, trips to the tribal areas (I held a Kalashnikov), smoking hash with a local policeman, champagne breakfasts and swimming at the American Clubaah, it all made for a fantastic time a kind of holiday from the holiday.
And from there to Lahore and India Lahore was just a huge city after what wed experienced but the Fort and the Badshahi mosque were pretty spectacular and the Wazir Khan Mosque had the most beautiful tile work.
To sum up the people we met were amazing none of this What is your name.come to my gift shop/guest house/tour etc. They just genuinely wanted to talk to you as they arent as used to tourists as they are in India. I found it very refreshing. And one more tale to tell re honesty
I took just a small pack (but crammed full) up to the polo festival and on the way back it bounced off the back of my jeep. Thought I would never see it or my very expensive tramping boots again. The next day I went to the Gilgit police station to report it for insurance purposes and then went back to have lunch at the Madina. A jeep driver then came in with my bag! Someone had picked it up off the road and handed it in with everything in it, as well! Couldnt believe it! There are not many places I have traveled to (or lived in) where this would have happened thank you, Pakistan.
I didnt mean to be quite so verbose - thats what a few wines after work does to me! Great to relive the experiences though. If anyone has any queries then feel free to ask.
Cheers,
Maree
P.S. Tip for women you will get stared at, no matter what. But you can minimise the hassle wear salwar kameez and perfect the looking down the road stare or wear dark glasses, ie. try not to make eye contact. The guys we met in guesthouses or through friends were very respectful but on the street it can be a different story.
Gilgit - great base for northern Pakistan. The Madina Guest House is as good as the guidebooks say and Mr Yaqoob is a real sweetie. We stayed there on 6 separate occasions and he always gave us welcome tea when we arrived. The rooms are great, theres a huge buffet meal served every night and the staff is great. You can also organise treks from there and jeep drivers to anywhere.
Treks loads of places for this. Four of us chose to trek up the Bagrote valley to Diran base camp (above 3 glaciers and below Diran and Rakaposhi). We were the first to trek this route for the season and possibly the only ones to do it. trekking in Pak is not like Nepal. You dont meet anyone else except the odd goat herder. We were right in amongst the mountains the whole time and camped at deserted shepherd huts. We took a guide (mandatory for this trek as your walking over glaciers a lot of the time) and, as 3 of us were basically lazy people, a couple of porters. For the 5 day trek, including transport, food, guide, porters and tent hire it cost under US$60 each good value, I say. Another good side trip from Gilgit where you can do some long or some short walks is the Naltar Valley alpine meadows and even a few ski lifts apparently the Pak army do their ski training here but in summer there isnt a sign of them.
Karakoram Highway blew me away. How did they ever get this road through? Theyve carved a road through a tectonic collision zone and they can, generally, keep it open. The mountains come right down to the road so the views out the bus window are awesome.
Shandur Polo Festival if youre there at the right time then this is an absolute must. Its hard to imagine that there could be a more beautiful spot for a sporting event mountains, lake, polo ground, blue sky and 10,000 Pakistani men ( us women were very much out numbered!). General Musharraf (he only declared himself president 2 weeks later) showed up for the final and the match was fantastic. Id never even seen polo before but Im a Gilgit supporter forever now (and they won). Its a 2 day trip up to the pass from Gilgit and the roads are crap but the views are stunning and the drivers are fantastic.
Hunza Valley another beautiful place stay in Altit rather than Karimabad and also go up to Eagles Nest (Melishkar) for a night or two great sunsets/sunrises and a cherry tree right outside (stone fruit season while I was there apricots, cherries yummo).
Passu my favourite small place on the side of the highway where nothing much happens but the views are once again awesome. You can do a day walk which takes you across the river and back over some crazy swingbridges (as seen on cover of LP Karakoram Highway) not for the fainthearted if its windy (and some people even freak out on a calm day). The Yunz Valley day trek is also good a long day but you get good views of the white Passu Glacier and the dark Batura Glacier. The best thing about Passu for me though was Akber Shah who owns the Passu Peak Inn where we stayed a lovelier man you wouldnt find anywhere. After 25 years in the army he was pensioned out and now runs this small guesthouse in the middle of nowhere. He makes the best potato curry in Pakistan, will talk all night if you want and will flag down a truck or jeep and get them to buy you cigarettes in the next large town. He really is a true gentleman.
Baltistan worth the long trip from Gilgit (one of my best memories of Pakistan is in the bus with my feet out the window, eating cherries that people kept giving me, spitting out the pits with good music on my Discman bliss). At the Karakoram Inn in Skardu, Skandur can get hold of a jeep and take you out to Satpara Lake and the seventh century Buddha carvings. The village of Khapalu is a good side trip from Skardu.
North West Frontier Province we finally left the Northern Areas and went back over the Shandur Pass to Chitral (very sad to leave the Madina for the last time. From Chitral we travelled to Balanguru in the Rumbur Valley. This is a Kalash settlement. The Kalasha are not Muslim and have their own distinctive costumes and customs. They are also extremely friendly and welcoming. Had a great time just hanging out with the women and children laughing and singing (they were great and we were crap). Saifullah Jans guesthouse is fantastic he has become a spokesman for the Kalasha in their fight against logging interests.
Peshawar possibly the highlight of a years travel for me (not just in Pak and India). Wed met an Indonesian woman who lived there and she invited us to stay and so we did for 3 weeks. Shed lived there for years (husband headed up an NGO) and so we met so many lovely locals (as opposed to lovely people who worked in the guesthouses). A room of my own (with airconditioning Peshawar is HOT), Western alcohol (remember, Pakistan is dry), the Peshawar markets, the Gandharan Buddhas at the Peshawar museum, trips to the tribal areas (I held a Kalashnikov), smoking hash with a local policeman, champagne breakfasts and swimming at the American Clubaah, it all made for a fantastic time a kind of holiday from the holiday.
And from there to Lahore and India Lahore was just a huge city after what wed experienced but the Fort and the Badshahi mosque were pretty spectacular and the Wazir Khan Mosque had the most beautiful tile work.
To sum up the people we met were amazing none of this What is your name.come to my gift shop/guest house/tour etc. They just genuinely wanted to talk to you as they arent as used to tourists as they are in India. I found it very refreshing. And one more tale to tell re honesty
I took just a small pack (but crammed full) up to the polo festival and on the way back it bounced off the back of my jeep. Thought I would never see it or my very expensive tramping boots again. The next day I went to the Gilgit police station to report it for insurance purposes and then went back to have lunch at the Madina. A jeep driver then came in with my bag! Someone had picked it up off the road and handed it in with everything in it, as well! Couldnt believe it! There are not many places I have traveled to (or lived in) where this would have happened thank you, Pakistan.
I didnt mean to be quite so verbose - thats what a few wines after work does to me! Great to relive the experiences though. If anyone has any queries then feel free to ask.
Cheers,
Maree
P.S. Tip for women you will get stared at, no matter what. But you can minimise the hassle wear salwar kameez and perfect the looking down the road stare or wear dark glasses, ie. try not to make eye contact. The guys we met in guesthouses or through friends were very respectful but on the street it can be a different story.
