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The Karakoram Highway (KKH) passes through some of the most breathtaking rocky landscapes in the world.
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- Author: Samantha Shea
- Roll, BBC Travel
4 hours ago
Fresh mountain air streamed in through the car window as I drove through rugged mountain landscapes.
Even though summer was in full swing, huge amounts of snow still accumulated on the 7,000meter peaks.
Glacial waterfalls flowed down to feed the river below through Pakistan’s Hunza Valley, aptly named “Shangri La” by British writer James Hilton.
I drove along the Karakoram Highway (KKH), which passes through some of the most breathtaking rocky landscapes in the world. Often referred to as the “Eighth Wonder of the World,” it is a dream trip, but few have ever heard of it or how it came about.
KKH was once a stage of the Silk Road, the foundations of which were laid by locals centuries ago.
However, it wasn’t until 1978 after nearly 20 years of construction by more than 24,000 Pakistani and Chinese workers that it was officially opened to vehicles, bringing trade, tourism and ease of travel to this remote part of the world.
The 1,300kilometerlong highway stretches from the small town of Hasan Abdal near the Pakistani capital Islamabad to Kashgar in China’s Xinjiang Autonomous Region and passes through Khunjerab, the highest paved border crossing in the world at around 4,700 meters.
But I was drawn to the 120mile stretch of highway that runs through the Hunza Valley, a region surrounded by the Karakoram Mountains that give the highway its name.
In this incredibly beautiful section, you can see pristine glaciers, alpine lakes and snowcapped peaks from your tour. But as fascinating as the journey is, it is the incredible people and traditions of the Hunza Valley that make this part of the road so special.
Photo credit: Samantha Shea/BBC
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Students at the Leif Larsen Music Center learn traditional instruments such as the dadang drum
Located in the Gilgit Baltistan region between Xinjiang and Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor, Hunza was virtually isolated from the world until the 20th century for geographical reasons. The remote region is primarily home to the Burusho and Wakhi people and has its own languages, music and culture not found in Pakistan or anywhere else in the world.
While the KKH provided access to the valley, it also had a negative impact on the ecologically sensitive region and caused many to abandon the communities’ traditional way of life.
Meanwhile, the number of locals celebrating longcelebrated festivals such as Ginani (the arrival of spring) and those wearing the region’s traditional embroidered robes has declined.
Still, some locals work hard to preserve Hunza Valley’s unique traditions.
The first stop on my trip was Altit, a village known for its 1,100yearold fortress and commitment to cultural preservation. Here I met musician Mujib Ruzik in a cafe, while the snowcapped giants Rakaposhi (7,788 m) and Diran (7,266 m) stretched in the distance.
Just steps away was the Leif Larsen Music Center, a school that seeks to keep the valley’s traditional music alive by teaching it to the next generation.
Photo credit: Samantha Shea/BBC
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Bozlanj Café serves traditional Hunza dishes that are very different from Pakistani cuisine
“We depended on music because music was connected to every aspect of life, as if we were growing or cutting wheat [estaríamos cantando canções folclóricas tradicionais]”said Ruzik.
“But young people don’t know that. But now that we have incorporated them into musical practices, [eles estão aprendendo] What is the true essence of culture?
The music center was founded in 2016, but Ruzik explained that it only really started functioning when Zia Ul Karim started teaching the students.
Although folk music was usually enjoyed as a hobby, Ul Karim, who was born and raised in Altit, was one of the first to earn a degree in musicology and was proficient in several instruments.
Until his tragic death in a motorcycle accident in 2022, he taught over 100 students of various ages and abilities.
Ruzik led me into the practice room, which was modeled after a local house: dusheks (seat cushions) lined the four walls and diros (pillows) acted as our chairs, while nearly a dozen students gathered around him.
Although Pakistan is a deeply patriarchal country, Hunza is considered the most liberal region, partly due to the predominance of Ismailism, a moderate branch of Islam known for promoting tolerance and women’s rights.
Education and sport are encouraged for young women, and many go on to study at university or elsewhere. Thanks to the inclusive learning space promoted here, several young women sat in the group, enthusiastically holding their lutelike wooden rubabs.
Next, three students performed Hareep music (the local name for traditional Hunza tunes) while playing a string instrument equipped with glowing scales. a long, thin zither; and the dadang, a thick, portable drum covered in red and green stripes.
The hypnotic sounds filled the air and left me with an overwhelming feeling of joy that the folk music of Hunza Central will continue for a while.
Photo credit: Samantha Shea/BBC
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Korgah is a womanrun carpet factory in a 400yearold house.
After leaving the cobbled streets of Old Altit, I walked back along the KKH to probably its most famous section: Upper Hunza, known locally as Gojal.
Although they have a similar culture to Central Hunza, the Gojalis speak Wakhi (which is unrelated to Burushaski) and are believed to have migrated from the nearby Wakhan corridor hundreds of years ago.
Before the highway opened, travel between Hunza’s two regions took days. Now it only took an hour for the stunning blue Attabad Lake to welcome me to the region.
As natural as it may seem, Attabad Lake is actually artificial and was born out of a tragedy.
On January 4, 2010, a massive landslide destroyed several villages and blocked the Hunza River, creating an artificial lake.
Now surrounded by luxury hotels, the lake named after a village destroyed by the landslide appeared to be the poster child for Hunza’s modernization, as did KKH’s latest modernization to make travel easier: a set of five “ChinaPakistan Friendship Tunnels”. were completed in 2015 and appeared to be located in a bustling metropolis rather than one of the world’s most remote regions.
Photo credit: Samantha Shea/BBC
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The cathedralshaped peaks of Cones Passu offer one of the most spectacular views in the KKH
However, driving just a few more miles down the road, I found Café Bozlanj, a womanowned restaurant that was exactly the kind of local restaurant I was craving.
Although Pakistani food is usually very spicy, spices in traditional Hunza cuisine do not extend beyond mint leaves, and delicacies often include apricot oil and yak meat.
I ordered Mool (a local cheese made from milk, sugar and an apple cider vinegar mixture) and Ghilmindi, a sandwich made from two thin breads filled with local yogurt and nuts.
Owners Malika Sultana and Rashida Begum told me that before opening the restaurant in 2016, they initially prepared local dishes that they learned from their mothers and grandmothers. Originally hidden in their home village of Gulmit, it is now located in an attractive part of KKH.
“A [produção de] The cultural meal was almost ready. Because our children didn’t. Nobody did that. And so we started, and now other women have joined us and people are going out to eat,” Sultana told me while sipping my Bozlanj tea, the name of the restaurant, which is one in the region native wildflower.
I soon learned that Gojal and especially Gulmit is a hub for women entrepreneurship.
Although only 20% of Pakistani women overall are in the formal workforce one of the lowest rates in the world women in the Hunza Valley own restaurants, shops and even work as carpenters.
And a short drive from the Sultana and Begum restaurant — where I first caught a glimpse of the cathedralshaped peaks, the Passu Cones — is another example: Korgah, a womanrun carpet factory in a 400yearold house.
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Isolated from the world for almost a millennium, the Hunza Valley has unique languages, music and culture
When I entered, five ladies were sitting and working in a cozy room where intricate rugs hung among a wealth of photos and international awards.
“We started in 1998 when KADO (Karakoram Area Development Organization) trained 30 women from the region,” said Shamim Bano, who was born and raised in the village and now runs Korgah.
She was part of that first training initiative and has since worked with hundreds of other women from Gulmit and the region. Today the factory is a popular tourist spot at KKH, allowing the women of Korgah to support their families while keeping the art of carpet weaving alive.
“Our traditional carpets are [chamados] Sharma or hair in Wakhi made from yak or goat hair. “This has been in our culture for centuries, long before education,” Bano explained, pausing to work on a design that depicted an ibex, a type of mountain goat.
About an hour later, on the way back to Central Hunza, the Passu Cones disappeared behind me.
Cows and sheep strolled along the road, and I passed elderly people carrying tufts of grass on their backs in girans (thatched wooden baskets used for centuries) another aspect of traditional Hunza life that has survived modernization.
As great as the Karakoram Highway is architecturally, it would be nothing without the people and culture of Hunza. As I walked back into the stateoftheart tunnels, I thought of something Ruzik had said earlier: “The hope is that we preserved this.” [cultura] for 60 years or more”.
As I returned to the tunnels, I thought about the various cultural guardians I had met on my journey through the Hunza Valley, from musicians to chefs to artisans.
I can only hope that future travelers also have the opportunity to meet them and experience what makes the Karakoram Highway so special.