Time Out Pakistan guide

Everyone, bar a few intrepid friends who’ve travelled in the region, had thought I was crazy to be exploring Pakistan in the wake of the recent floods. Certainly, the headlines hadn’t augured well, but when does the country generate good news stories? Natural disasters, suicide bombings, corruption, a bent cricket team; as far as many tourists are concerned, Pakistan is off the holiday map.

It’s a shame, because life on the ground away from the flood-hit areas proves to be another, more exuberant story. In sunny, humid Rawalpindi, the slightly shambolic twin city of the slick capital, Islamabad, I spent a surreal first night at a funfair riding the Mad Hatter teacups. I’d been taken there by Marriyam (aged nine) and Fatima (aged 11), the sweet-natured daughters of my guide’s cousin, Seema, who was putting me up for the night, as I’d flown in a day earlier than the other members of my group.

I’m a fan of offbeat destinations, and had been obsessed with the idea of travelling to Pakistan ever since a female friend raved about the kindness of the locals and the heart-stopping mountain scenery. But who to travel with? There isn’t an abundance of tour companies running trips to ‘big, bad’ Pakistan. Sohail Azhar, the 38-year-old founder of independent tour operator TravelPak, had impressed me with his passion and broad, deep understanding of the country, and the company can organise a local guide on arrival. Sohail himself has an extensive network of family, friends and local guides to call upon – and fluent Urdu, coupled with his Western perspective, would enrich my interactions with the locals and, to a degree, enable me to experience Pakistan from the inside. He recommended a trip that would focus on the country’s mountainous areas.

The next day I met the group I’d be travelling with: Sohail, his film-star-pretty British-Pakistani wife, Shama, and Ryan, a young American from Maryland. Two other women had pulled out, deterred in part by the flood headlines. The affable Ryan, a keen photographer, had been sold on the destination after meeting Sohail and his wife on an earlier South American jaunt. Who else travels to Pakistan for fun? Well, in the time I was there I saw two backpacking Brits, a blonde Californian, travelling solo, and a small Korean and Japanese contingent.

We travelled hundreds of bumpy miles up the Karakoram Highway, affectionately known as the KKH. This legendary artery connects Pakistan and China via ancient Silk Road trade routes, although for many long stretches, thanks to roadworks and the rains, it is little more than a potholed, rubble-strewn, spine-juddering track along which Bedford trucks – lovingly hand-painted in iridescent rainbow hues – rumble along, like a moving art gallery. The KKH was our way into Gilgit Baltistan, an autonomous region, formerly known as the ‘northern areas’. This vast, remote swathe of sparsely populated valleys, gorges and barren, dun-coloured hills is also home to some of the world’s highest peaks – the Karakoram, Himalayas and Hindu Kush mountain ranges all meet here. It was all so spellbindingly lovely that a sense of sublime unreality soon set in.

We’d jeeped and hiked – it took a day – from Chilas, a dusty, arid plain, where the KKH emerges from the Indus gorge, up to Fairy Meadows, a high alpine pasture with velvety green fields, grazing sheep, cows, chalets and views of snowy Nanga Parbat, the world’s ninth highest mountain. Walking in the meadows, I’d tested my two sentences of Urdu on the kids who had run up to say hello. A girl shook her head when I raised my camera, unlike the three boys sporting Frisbee-like woollen flat caps (rakishly worn by men everywhere in northern Pakistan), who interrupted their game of pretend polo – they rode their mallets as though they were ponies – for hugs and photos.

Further north, I wandered through the peaceful lanes of Karimabad, an oasis in the Hunza Valley. Although home to a sizeable chunk of the country’s Ismaili Muslims, and for hundreds of years the region’s royal rulers (or Mirs), it has the feel of a big, tranquil village, with pretty, flower-decked houses that hug the hillsides, terraced fields and staggering views of the mountains.

I stocked up on pashminas, apricots and Hunza honey in the sleepy bazaar and was entertained by a trio of local musicians in our hotel, the Hunza Darbar. As is the custom, the men got up and danced while the women watched. If the scenery was riveting, so too was the conversation. Early on we had acquired two new passengers, a newlywed couple: Saher, 29, one of the many cousins of my guide Sohail, and his wife Huma, 23. Theirs was a rare love marriage and in between impromptu chats about their courtship the pair, both observant Muslims, lamented the way they felt Pakistanis were perceived in the West. ‘Why does everyone hate us?’ beseeched Saher. ‘We are not terrorists. True Muslims believe in justice, tolerance and charity. The Taliban are crazy people.’

By the time we left the Karakorams for the more arid, forbidding mountains of the Hindu Kush – a sort of high-altitude desert that had at one time been invaded by the hordes of Genghis Khan, the Aryans and armies of Alexander – and entered the riverside town of Chitral in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, formerly the North West Frontier Province, I was teetering between euphoria and exhaustion. I felt overwhelmed by the view of Tirich Mir mountain from my hotel room, the carpet weavers, butchers and sweet vendors in the bazaar, the vivid-coloured shalwar khameezes worn by the women, the taste of fragrant freshly cooked mutton and chicken curry, dal and moreish roti that we’d got used to gorging on. Was there anything left to charm a weary traveller? Well, yes: tea with an imam. The imam’s red henna-dyed beard was striking, his eyeliner thick, his manner jolly and welcoming. He recited a charming story about a family who’d turned away an unbeliever from their table, only to be humbled by a tolerant Allah. ‘Islam will welcome you regardless of your religion,’ said the imam. ‘Jihad,’ he added politely, ‘is only allowed when a non-Muslim force invades or tries to take over your country.’

I knew I would enjoy Pakistan, but what I hadn’t anticipated was such a strong yearning to return to the big skies, snowy peaks and the fledgling friendships I’d forged. Whether you’re a novice or a seasoned traveller, Pakistan will steal your heart.

Need to know

Get there
Gulf Air flies to Lahore from Dhs1,715 via Bahrain (www.gulfair.com). For a ready-made trip, TravelPak (www.travelpak.co.uk) can organise tailor-made tours leaving from the Middle East. You’ll be met by a local guide at your destination who’ll take you through the valleys to the Chinese border and along the silk routes.

Where to stay
If you have a stopover in Lahore before you set off on your tour, try the budget Mirage Hotel with double rooms from Dhs70 (www.miragelahore.com). During your tour, TravelPak offers open-camp accommodation and two or three-star local lodgings en route, all of which have adjoining restaurants.

What to see
At an altitude of 3,735m, Shandur, located between Gilgit and Chitral, is home to the world’s most scenic polo event – the Shandur Polo Festival (www.shandur.com). This intense three-day competition is held annually in July, involving teams from Chitral and Gilgit, who play on a grassy plateau ringed by picturesque mountains (below). It’s the biggest sporting event in the northern areas’ calendar.

Geography
The large Karakoram mountain range spans the boarders of India, China and Pakistan, part of the greater Himalaya range.

Peaks in the area reach heights of 8,611m.

The Karakoram range also includes the world’s second-largest glacier, the Siachen, at 70km wide.

The harsh living conditions, altitude and location ensure the Karakoram area is less inhabited than other parts of the region, but offers mind-blowing natural beauty.

Travel tips

The area can be treacherous without a proper guide and transport. Also, some travellers may suffer from altitude sickness. Read the altitude sickness guidelines before you set off at www.travelhealthzone.com/
away/altitude.