Pakistan travel info

• INTRO

• IMPRESSIONS

• THE TRAVEL

• PHOTOS

• FUNNY STORIES

• TIPS

• PRINTABLE FORMAT

PAKISTAN  INTRO

Kind of travel:
Alone in a wholly independent travel

When:
14th-25th, Oct 06

How I moved:
buses are convenient but exist only on the main roads, "leaving-when-full" crowded minibus gets in most of the places, otherwise hitch-hiking turned out to work well (around Passu). Once I took the train from Peshawar to Rawalpindi

Freezing or baking?:
Islamabad and Peshawar were quite warm (25C), while on the mountains it was getting cold (10-13 C): consider that 'heating system' is an unknown word

Where I slept:
there's no lack of cheap accommodating, so you can always find a room ranging from 2.5$ to 6$. Forget heating system, reliable power, most of the time hot water and toilet paper of course!

What I liked:
the huge hospitality and the friendness of the people. An unexpected feeling of safety. The jaw-dropping landscape along the Karakorum Highway and the crazy celebration for the end of Ramadan (Eid el-Fitr)

IMPRESSIONS ABOUT PAKISTAN

I chose as destination the Northern Pakistan convinced by the enthusiast travellers I've met in the past years. It was often described as the best place where they had travelled. I confirm it.
Personally I can identify two elements that really impressed me. First of all the jaw-dropping beauty of the Himalayan ranges that, even if your travel (like mine) is not focused at all on the trekking, get an amazing background. Then the cultural gap: from one side it was sad to see the condition of the women or the religion often used as leverage to manipulate the masses, from the other the difference with our stereotypes, in terms of hospitality and safety, was embarrassing. I hitch hiked alone without problems and always getting the lift.
In particular in the Hunza Valley (along the Karakoram Highway north of Gilgit), where the religious fundamentalism is weaker, you can definitely enjoy your staying, chatting with the people (maybe even women) and comparing the points of view. While Peshawar needs more caution.

Alby

THE TRAVEL

Landed in Islamabad I was looking forward to get on the small plane to fly over the Himalayan range, destination Skardu. I got very disappointed when the flight was cancelled due to the bad weather. I had already been warned on the LP forum this often happens, but you always hope you are the lucky one.
It took just few hours my bottom was sat on a bus heading along the Karakoram Highway (the only road that crosses the Himalayan range connecting Pakistan and China) to Gilgit.
I didn't really understand how long the travel took; I heard something like 18h and to me it already seemed too much. After 23h I was still sat on the same bus!
I reached Gilgit in the middle of a sunny morning with the temperature around 17C. I settled down in the well-known Madina guesthouse where I met few other travellers. Gilgit itself isn't that special, but it's a good place to be used as base to explore the region and to taste the northern Pakistani atmosphere.
By minibus in 6h I got to the northermost point of my trip: Passu. This village is beautifully set at the feet of a 4000m high and several km long rocky wall, that makes the scenery breathtaking.
Here I slept in a small and cheap guesthouse (2 euro/night) where it was just me and the owner. I spent two days trekking in the area and eating vegetables. In particular I visited the Hussaini bridges and the village of Gulmarg, where it turned out interesting to have a look to a local school.
Hitch hiking still along the Karakoram Highway I headed south till the former capital of Karimabad. Again I introduced myself to the director and I visited a local school. Then I spent two days hanging around the area, reaching the viewpoint of Duikar (2900m) and the old settlement of Ganesh.
Again stopping over in Gilgit, I got to Islamabad by a 18h bus trip and then I turned to Peshawar. Definitely it's one of the most amazing town I've seen in my travels: Peshawar with its long bearded men, fully covered women, colourful buses and the "weapon culture", really seems a movie set.
Moreover I didn't miss the chance to visit the famous Kyber pass, one of the few roads, through the Hindu Kush range, that snake to Afghanistan. In this Pakistani region called "tribal area", an escort is mandatory, so you need to get the permit, the car and the policeman; the guesthouse provided everything for me. The Kyber pass itself is nothing special, but on the way, its historical role in the "Big Game", the afghan refugee camps, the villages and the forts, turned the whole trip worthwhile.
Time was getting over, so I jumped on the train and I reached Islamabad to flight back to Europe.

Alby