Natural splendour, real musics, wines, wordpower
Just a couple of minutes after our “welcome” to the “home” of an emblematic but “invisible” mammal (see immediately-previous post) we looked up from the Karakoram Highway, and over to the far side of the gorge through which we driving.
There, in plain but inconspicuous view: a section of a much older road.
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The Karakoram Highway is surely the most visually spectacular major road, anywhere.
On 20 May 2024, we were proceeding along part of it, en route from Gilgit to the Hunza Valley.
At 11.26 am – circa one hour out of Gilgit – the pictured sign welcomed us to the “home” of Pakistan’s national animal.
The markhor is often described as the world’s largest wild goat.
In terms of average body mass and length, that claim is probably incorrect.
However, an “average” male markhor’s shoulder height exceeds all other goats’ “average” shoulders
So, Capra falconeri probably is the world’s most imposing goat.
Comments closedAbove, you are looking at “downtown” Gilgit.
“Official” statistics – and guesstimates – for anywhere in northern Pakistan are highly “rubbery”, contradictory, and often very out of date.
Almost certainly, Gilgit is the Karakoram region’s largest city, with a population of circa 200,000…ish.
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If this post’s two photos were “the only available evidence”, you could assume – reasonably – that they were taken from vantage points far distant from each other.
In fact, the image below was taken less than sixty seconds after the one above, with the very same lens.
Above, I was looking across a Karakoram valley’s floor to the mountains on the far side
For the image below I had turned my head 180 degrees, shuffled my feet accordingly, then looked straight up the nearby, steep, stark, but seemingly more modest slope… our proximity to the relevant ridge (atop which the boulder perched) would have enabled it to “hide” any higher ground behind it.
As you can see, an “accident” was waiting to happen…
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A few minutes later, the pictured gentleman walked out of the mosque’s courtyard and into the village’s main road/through street.
Clearly, he was someone for whom other villagers “looked out”.
I saw a shopkeeper welcome him, and make him a cup of tea; no money changed hands.
All photos in this series are “candid”; I dislike photos of people who are “mugging” for the camera/ “smiling”, on demand. (and I detest “selfies”)
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The astonishing/vertiginous/stark/dramatic local landscapes are not the only reason that most visitors to northernmost Pakistan fall in love with Gilgit-Baltistan.
The unspoilt local humans are special, too.
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In the “western” world, polo is associated with toffs and tycoons.
That is certainly not the case in northern Pakistan.
There, we witnessed a much “earthier”, less “regulated” kind of polo.
Its players – both human and equine – were highly skilled.
Their stamina was remarkable.
Arguably, the match’s conduct and spirit were closer to polo’s origins than would be any match played on 21st century “western” turf.
Khaplu’s polo ground has no turf…
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Haldi village is a “modest” one, in a “remote” valley in northern Pakistan.
Surely one of the world’s most spectaculary-sited settlements, Haldi sits above the Shyok’s vast riverbed…and immediately below the Haldi Cones.
The Karakoram has many considerably higher mountains, but it is not hard to understand why more than a few people regard the Haldi Cones as the most spectacular – at least among Karakoram peaks which a visitor can see, “up close”, without having to embark on a demanding, high-altitude trek.
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Just before 5.30 pm on 15 May 2024 we reached Khaplu, where we would stay two nights in an unforgettable hotel.
Superbly “restored” (and not overly-restored) this century, “the original” was built in the 19th century, as the local royal palace and fort.
Food was excellent, our “rustic” rooms were both lovely and comfortable, electricity supply was a tad erratic, hospitality was warm, and there was a beautiful garden, immediately in front of our room.
The grandeur of the surrounding landscape was almost beyond belief.
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This post’s photo was taken 90 minutes after the previous chapter’s, as we continued along the road from Skardu to Khaplu.
Doubtless, most members of the current global human population have never heard of either town, but trust me: the road between them is one of “our” planet’s most spectacularly-scenic.
At 4.30 pm on15 May 2024, I simply pointed the camera out of the 4WD’s (briefly-opened) window.
A focal length of 30mm considerably “flattened” the typically-astonishing Karakoram landscape’s vertical aspect.
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