Introducing Punial, Ishkoman, Yasin & Ghizar
The Gilgit River basin upstream of Gilgit is a paradise for trekkers and anglers. Once a nest of small feuding kingdoms, it’s still a surprising patchwork of people and languages, with hardly any settlement big enough to be called a town. The population is 80% to 85% Ismaili (it was through here that Ismailism arrived from Afghanistan). Most others are Sunni, with some Shiites in Yasin. The only visible women are Ismailis, who dress in bright colours and pillbox caps, and are unveiled in public.
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The old valley kingdoms are Punial (poon-yaal), above Gilgit; Ishkoman (eesh-ko-man), entering from the north about 80km up the Gilgit River; Yasin (ya-seen), which enters at about 110km; and Ghizar (ghuh-zr), stretching west to the Shandur Pass into Chitral. They now comprise Ghizar district, hived off from Gilgit district in 1989, with its headquarters at Gakuch.
The mountains are the Hindu Raj, an arm of the Hindukush (to geographers, the Karakoram Range only begins east of Ishkoman). The lower reaches are hot in summer and unexceptional to look at, but the upper valleys are grandly beautiful. The route is dotted with ancient petroglyphs of ibex and other animals.
Most overlanders who pass through are on their way to/from Chitral – one of the best cheap adventures in the NA is to drive this scenic road. Though there’s still plenty of rough gravel, and there are some long hills between villages, a few intrepid cyclists have ridden it. You need to carry food and a tent.
Last updated: Feb 17, 2009
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