Going to different places and meeting new faces always
fascinates me. This time I had the opportunity to go to Shimshal village which
is the highest place of Hunza valley (3100 meters above sea level). I was very
excited to hit the KKH. I left Gilgit at 8 am in the morning. It was a
beautiful sunny Saturday (Jan 16). I had been to Hunza in 2014 so I kept moving
forward to Passu. Before reaching Passu I stopped at Attabad Lake. The white
snow around the crystal blue lake gave a mesmerizing view.
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| AttaAbad Lake, In winters |
The Pakistan China Friendship Tunnels have been very
beautifully built. However there are two police check posts within a 7 KM
distance which I didn’t like. I think one is enough for security purposes.
Throughout my travels I have seen these people asking only two three very
simple questions which don’t seem to be so ‘revealing’. Anyways, the ships that
used to carry people and luggage during the Attabad lake formation when the
roads were destroyed by the flood are now lying frozen in the lake. They are
waiting for the summers where hundreds of tourists will come to Hunza and they
will be alive again their beautiful blue universe. After 3 hours drive, we reached
Passu. The driver Uncle (Mir Baaz) dropped me at Passu. Today some notable had
died at Passu. So many people were going to offer their condolences. I asked a
villager who told me that “Ali Aman’ a social activist has passed away. At
Attabad lake I was thinking how names are so familiar Atta and Attabad lake. At
Passu there was another coincidence. The man who had passed away had the same
name as my late father. Ali Aman. The whole day I kept missing my lovely father
and thinking about ‘names’. Names become your identity. When someone takes the
name of a person or a place all of a sudden the whole images, stories and
experiences flash in your mind.
The most exciting journey begins now. My friend, Amjad, from
Shimshal had told me that from Passu you can hire a jeep. The driver Nazir was
not willing to charge below Rs.6,000. “We usually charge up to 8,000 but since
you took my name I’m will charge you in
6,000. Not a penny less than that.” Says Nazir. I did take his name. Amjad had
told me that a there are two jeeps in Passu. One red jeep is of Nazir. We
struck the deal at 6,000. But Nazir had not enough fuel and there was no fuel
station. Actually there was one fuel station which had no fuel :D So, Nazir
called his friend and we went to his house and pumped out some diesel from his
jeep and hit the bumpy road to Shimshal. It was cold. But there was no snow on
the road. A friend of mine had told me that there’s snow on the road and you
change vehicles at Passu. Nazir plays Indian songs. “Sorry Nazir, Can you
please play some local songs. Songs in local dialects?” I insist. The music of
Giglit region so much resonates with the music of our part, Chitral. A Chitrali
can also dance without much difficulty to the music of this region.
It’s approximately 47-55 KMs from Passu to Shimshal valley.
On the way to shimshal you have to travel along a deep ravine in a narrow road.
The road is fine but prone to land sliding and rocks falling. At a time only
one vehicle can move safely. If there’s another one coming from the other side
then the driver has to take long back in reverse gear to let the other pass.
There are 10 bridges you have to cross on the way to Shimshal. The total
bridges are 13 but one is used only in summers and the other two are now no
more in use due to road diversion. This road to Shimshal was constructed (2
times) by AKRSP with the help of local
people and government also had invested in the road (once). The local people say that they used to cross
the river or nala 12 times when there
was no road and no bridges. And it took a one day trekking to reach Passu from
Shimshal. Things have changed and now it takes 2.5 - 3 hours to reach Shimshal
from Passu.
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| On the way to Shimshal
Near Shimshal, the gigantic Malangudi glacier (Malangutti ) is very close to the road.
It takes a 15-30 minutes trekking to reach the glacier base from the road. From
the village it takes 1 hour. Trekking
over a glacier could be very dangerous particularly when you don’t have proper
shoes and prior training. If you slip and fall into the crevices you are in a
huge trouble than. Anyways, Malangutti glacier is so beautiful.
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| At Malangutti Glacier |
I met Mirza Ali Baig, the famous mountain climber of
Pakistan who belongs to Shimshal. His sister Samina Baig is the first ever
Pakistani woman (girl) to summit the Everest. Mirza was with Samina during the
expedition till camp 3 or 4 I guess and then samina went ahead and waved
Pakistan’s flag at the summit. At Shimshal I stayed with Mirza and another
guest Florin from Romania was also there. Florin runs an adventure school in
Romania and is one of the best ice climbers. Link to his adventure school http://www.extremromania.ro
Talking of Mirza family, the whole family is so adventurous.
From Yousuf Uncle to Samina to little Zarar all are born adventurers. The story
of Samina Baig is the most inspiring one. A young girl of 22 who for the first
time in Pakistan’s history summits the Everest as a woman is a big achievement.
If you listen to her story of hard work and courage I’m sure you will
involuntarily stand up and salute her courage and dedication. (Alas! Pakistan has never much respected
national heroes). The Mirza Family is doing wonderful job for tourism
development in particular and socio-economic development of Shimshal in
general.
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| Mirza Ali Baig's Uncles |
Next day we did some skiing together. There was enough snow
in Shimshal village for that purpose. It
is a lovely village. And I think you should know few things about the village.
·
*First and Foremost, it’s the last village of
Gilgit region after road diversion from Passu.
· * Altitude 3100 meters
· **The First Ever woman from Pakistan to reach the
Everest Summit hails from Shimshal.Samina Baig
· *There are village guest houses for tourists so
if you go there you will easily find a place to stay.
· * There are 13 suspension bridges across the
valley.
· * You can easily find skillful porters and tour
guides in this village with fluent English.
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| Shimshal village |
There are also few things missing in the area. According to
the locals, they don’t have a well-established drinking water supply system. The
drinking water supply scheme initiated by an NGO has failed due to some reasons.
I think the major reason is the precipitation of calcium (carbonate) as the
locals say that the water in the glass gathers a kind of white powder. Although
they treat it at household level and make it OK for drinking but that’s not a
long term solution. The source needs to be changed or a big filtration plant
will be needed. Government or some NGO needs to do it soon. Secondly, there is
no electricity. The inhabitants have solar panels and some have generators but
there’s no power station. A new power station of some 2 MW is expected to be
built by Govt soon. There’s one other
thing missing in the valley but I don’t think that’s a BIG issue. For people
who live in the cities and need some peace of mind, the missing thing is a blessing
J Yes, there are no
telephone networks or cellular networks. Once you enter Shimshal you are open
to the nature and fresh air. Put your cell phones off and save your battery.
Recharge your mind with peace and tranquility. J
One thing I noticed in Shimshal is that I didn’t see anybody
smoking. I kept observing but I didn’t see a single human being smoking cigarette.
Was it a smoke free zone? I don’t know. I didn’t ask but that was such a
wonderful thing to observe.
I left Shimshal with beautiful memories. Looking out over Hunza, from the window of
Hill Top View Hotel, I think of the next travel. I think I should travel through Kohistan
instead of taking a plane to the capital. That way I would be able to visit
more new places and know the landscape. I think I should read “Atlas Shrugged” during
the travel.
