Pakistan Off the beaten track
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Johan Kruseman
Updated on 12 November 2024
Updated on 12 November 2024
Walking at 3.500m high in a desolated valley high up north in the mountains of Pakistan, 5km away from the Afghanistan border, surrounded by immense 6K high peaks, disowned from any network signal, yes, this must be the most remote place I have ever been.
It took a 14 hour bus ride from the capital, followed by another 2 hours in a minibus, 6 hours of hitchhiking, a 3.5 hour mini-van into the mountains and then a final walk of 4 hours at an altidude of almost 4K. But boy was it worth all the effort.
We started our hike early morning, the owner of the place we stayed accompanying us for the first half an hour to ensure we would find the right way. That half an hour quickly became an hour as we were inevitable invited for a cup of tea, salt tea this time.
After that the owner gave us the final directions: Babaghundi, a Sufi shrine, was our ultimate goal. As it’s so close to the Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan, on our way we met multiple traders. The first brought a cattle of about 40 goats into Pakistan, the second guided a herd of over 100 yaks, which we could witness to cross the river as if we just stepped into a National Geographic recording. After a long 4 hours in the burning sun (we were blessed with an unlimited amount of blue sky these days), we reached Babaghundi.
Just seconds inside the shrine a second National Geographic scene emerged in front of us. A family entered and rounded the shrine three times anti-clockwise, so devoted and with tears rolling from their eyes. After they left we looked at each other to try and grasp what just happened, the air still drenched with emotions.
Outside again a man asked us to join him to his house for a tea and a lunch. Luckily this time we could do something back as we had brought the remainders of our delicious but abundant dinner as our lunch and we could happily share the lunch with the three of us.
The guy then also explained more of the trading mechanism with Afghanistan. As the climate on the other side of the mountain range separating the two countries is much more friendly, grass grows exuberantly in Afganistan, giving them a big advantage in cattle breeding. Therefor it are the goats and yaks changing their homecountry from Afganistan to Pakistan, while the Pakistanis bring goods like shoes and rugs. Interestingly enough no money is used in these trades. Only for deals above 100 yaks the trades are made with US$ instead of shoes and rugs. As Afghanistan isn’t a safe place nowadays, the trades are made on meadows close to the 5.000m high border, where relatives meet up to make the deal and walk back to their respective villages.
After another 4 hour walk back to our own village, tired and mesmerized by the hike and what we had encountered in just one day, we took dinner, played some quick card games and finished the day, only to find out that the next day we were invited to the final day of a 3-day traditional Pakistani wedding (stay tuned…)
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Traveled route: Islamabad, Gilgit, Hunza Valley, Aliabad, Karimabad, Gulmit, Borith lake, Patundas glacier, Husseini bridge, Passu Cones, Sost, Chapursan Valley, Zuhdkhun, BabaGhundi shrine, Khunjerab Pass, Attabad Lake, Gulkin, Minapin, Rakaposhi Basecamp, Railkor bridge, Fairy Meadows, Nanga Parbat basecamp, Lahore, Walled City, Sunehri mosque, Wazir Khan mosque, Data Darbar, Lahore fort, Haveli restaurant, Badshahi mosque, Shalimar gardens, Wagah border
Off the beaten track
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Photographed by: Johan Kruseman
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