Gojal - Upper Hunza Valley

Return to Mango Grove | Riding the Karakoram Highway | Northern Areas - Pakistan| Hunza Valley

Glacier across Shishkat Nala:

bulldozers clearing footpath for bus-transfer

As one moves east further up Hunza Valley, the mountains get close to the road and the valley turns northward. Crossing to the west side of the Hunza River, we came across a puzzling sight. A huge wall of snow ran from up in the mountains, across any possible roadway, to the river. Due to the early spring time of our travel, the glaciers had not retreated past the roadbed. Unfazed by this, the rest of our bus just got off, grabbed their belongings, and hiked over the snow ridge a few hundred yards to where the road re-emerged.

On the other side, buses headed south had stopped, and we got on and headed north again. While glaciers, rockfalls, and mountain reality cause problems, the flexible transport system just leaves these obstructions to bypass by foot. On the other side, the other buses that cannot cross turn around and trade passengers.

This same glacier forced so much sediment into the river in 1974 that it caused a natural dam to form. This blocked the river for three years, forcing hardship on people to the north including catastrophic flooding of much of Pasu village. The people rebuilt, grew crops to make it through, and eventually were re-united with the rest of Hunza. During our visit to Gojal we hoped for this to re-occur, trapping us with the kind Wakhi.

Gojal is populated by Wakhi speakers, Tajik by descent, who had crossed to this area from Central Asia with their herds. Historically associated with Hunza Valley, this area holds much in common with the rest of Hunza while being ethnically distinct. Ismaili Muslim like the Hunza valley, this area sports a massive written greeting on a mountainside for the Aga Khan, who visited in 1987.

We stayed the first part in Gulmit Village, in a traditional rooftop room with balcony overlooking the central polo ground of town. A beautiful small village, Gulmit proved to be the most enjoyable spot for me. Evening cricket matches by the local boys on the polo ground made enjoyable entertainment as the sun turned the peaks pink, orange, and purple.

Karim Ali Bahadur, University student, English speaker, and nice guy

View of Peaks behind farm field

Ever hospitable, he offered us tea and a snack with his aunt and uncle, who were plowing their high-altitude fields that day.We enjoyed the tea and sunshine for a few hours, amazed to find a warm, easy to talk to, very nice guy who we could hang out with.

This was a common experience in Pakistan, to find exceptions to every rule, everywhere. In terms of warmth and hospitality, Karim Ali Bahadur did not offer more than other Gojalis; he offered easy english conversation and talk of computers - a boon to road-weary travellers.

We next spent some days further north in Pasu. From there we spent a day hiking to Pasughar and Borit Lake. On right is Pasu glacier which we followed for a bit, one of the longest in the world. Incredible peaks poked up from behind ridges, allowing us to see nearly a dozen of the 100 tallest mountains in the course of one day.

Along this hike, we crossed a low pass headed toward Borit Lake. On a high rocky slate ridge, we were confronted by hundreds of goats headed our way. Confused, got a nice viewpoint and avoided a goat encounter. Behind the goats came four shepherds [mom, daughter, two sons]; who had tea with us, enjoyed our nutella, and tuned in Persian religious music on their shortwave. Typical of this area, it seemed we could not escape the kind locals and their endless supply of tea and snacks.

Pasu Glacier with Shishpar, Pasu, and Batura Peaks

This area provided the most spectacular mountain landscapes of the trip. While less green due to the higher elevation and cooler weather, it was not as exuberantly happy as Hunza seemed. We found kind people everywhere, but even after the KKH ride and Hunza preparing us - this was the culmination of vertical slopes. There were ridges with rockfall as walls, not really any sort of slope to call mountain. Less of this area is suitable to be terraced and farmed, yet determination proves that orchards can bloom even in the most unlikely spot.

Being in this valley with before other foreigners proved a boon. While there was no carbonated beverages, there was less focus on us travelling through. While long separated from the outside world, Gojal had warm friendly people who were eager to share their treasures with us. Dried apricots, nuts, tea, and smiles were found in endless supply; perfect complement to the spectacular scenery.

Gulmit at Sunset