My initial plan was to spend quite some time in Northern Pakistan, but unfortunately just as I entered the country, the conflict with India started kicking off: In Gilgit, the capital of Gilgit-Baltistan, I had to decide whether I stick with my initial route which would take me to Skardu and close to the border areas with India & Kashmir, or if I head in the opposite direction towards the city of Chitral.
Due to the uncertainty at the time I chose the latter, just to be safe. Although this meant I would spend much less time in Pakistan and miss out on a lot of great sights, one advantage was that this route sees much less traffic and foreign tourists. This is mainly because of the very bumpy and dusty road, the only road that directly connects Gilgit with Chitral. There are works ongoing to pave parts of the road, which will greatly reduce travel time and probably attract more tourists in the future. But during my time here I didn’t see a single other foreigner, and the lack of cars allowed me to appreciate the many beautiful valleys, such as the Ghizer & Phander Valleys, all while being welcomed by the ever-friendly locals.
Eventually I reached the 3730m high Shandur Pass, which marks the boundary between the regions of Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) in Northwestern Pakistan. At the beginning of the pass there is a scenic plateau, which reminded me a little of the Pamir Highway, with Yaks grazing on the grasslands at the foothills of the snow-capped mountains. The road can be very challenging at times, with risk of rockfall or landslides in certain places, and the weather seems to be changing by the hour, as I experienced sunshine, rain and hail during the climb. Eventually I made it to the top, only meeting a couple other vehicles on the way, and descended down into Khyber-Pakhtunkwa.
Gilgit-Baltistan is renowned for it’s stunning mountain scenery, but I found KPK, specifically the region of Upper Chitral, just as beautiful. Stunning valleys, gorges, villages, and peaks reaching heights of 7000m or more. And while the road quality didn’t improve much, the people here were just as friendly.
One downside is that the freedom of movement here can be restricted by the police, as there are some safety concerns in certain areas, specifically near the Afghan border. Shortly before I reached Chitral, the officers told me that they would have to accompany me with a police escort, something I’m not a fan of in the slightest, so I decided to skip this bit by bus instead. This is how I made it to Peshawar, the capital of KPK and a major city in Western Pakistan. Here I could apply for a visa for Afghanistan, my next destination.
I ended up spending much less time in Pakistan than intended, mainly due to conflict with India, but will definitely return one day to check out the places I have missed.
