Shimshal.... A scenic valley of brave people !

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.  

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. 

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. 

  

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. 

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.

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.