Ghizer land

Ghizer Land
                     In the arms of Hindukush the four valleys of Punial, Ishkoman, Gupis and Yasin constitute two subdivisions of District Ghizer in Northern Areas of Pakistan. All the four valleys are naturally demarcated by rivers. Geographically all the valleys are characterized by very high snow clad mountains, alpine forests and pastures. Glacial streams and high passes connect them to other countries. Ghizer is the most fascinating part of Northern Areas with its lofty snow capped mountains, enchanting scenic valleys, splendid glaciers, Gorgeous rivers and lakes with full of trout fish.
Historically the region has been ruled by indigenous rajas such as those of Yasin and Punyal and later it was divided between the Mehtar of Chitral and the Maharaja of Kashmir. After 1895 all of Ghizer was annexed by the Kashmiris and was made part of the Gilgit Agency which was directly ruled by the British and not by the Kashmir Darbar

Culture: Ghizer is a multi ethnic district and four languages are spoken i.e. Khowar, Shina, Burushaski and Wakhi. Other languages spoken in this region include: Pustho, Gujar, and Urdu.

People: People in this region are gregarious, hospitable, caring and respectful. The typical customs, folk dances, music and sports, like polo and buzkashi provide the tourists an unforgettable experience. Their main source of income are: agriculture and livestock. The routine of life is guided by the weather condition and farm activities. During summer, people need to work very hard. They would go to their farms early in the morning and work till dusk. Men and women both work in the field.
Religion: All the Muslims

Festivities: There are mainly two types of festivals i.e. religious and cultural. Religious festivals include: Edi-ul Fitr and Eid Azha

This is the land of adventure because it offers a lot of avenues for adventure and fun like: trekking, jeep safari, trophy hunting, water rafting, wind surfing and sightseeing. A large number of tourists come to the District Ghizer each year because all four major valleys are beautiful and easily accessible areas for visitors. Ishkoman Valley which separates the Karakoram range from Himalayas is almost 129 km in the north west of Gilgit and 65 km from Gahkuch.

 The valley has immense natural beauty in the shape of alpine meadows, massive glacier, perennials streams. It is the home of several passes treks and alpine lakes. It links district Ghizer with Asumbar, Naltar, Darkut and Chipursan. Imit is one of the most important tourist point which opens the gates towards Wakhan Border. It is located at distance of 64 Km from main town of Ghizer Gahkuch and away from 50 Km Afghan Wakhan Border. During ancient times a very colorful trade festival used to be held in Imit. The traders from entire Central Asia used to participate. The people of Imit have different background and speak various languages. They are very friendly and hospitable. Borth is a wonderful picnic spot and is located at a distance of 65 Km from Gahkuch and 34 Km away from Wakhan corridor in the upper region of Ishkoman Valley. The spot present a perfect camping place for domestic and International tourists where the glacial stream runs nearby and offers gentle cool breezes which is really breath taking. The people speak Wakhi and have migrated centuries ago from Central Asia. Chilengi Pass trek starts from the village of Matramdan-Ishkoman (2895 mt). The jeep road ends at Matramdan and from there starts 5 days trek. The trail crosses a footbridge to the Krumber River and after the crossing of chilengi glacier, this trek leads Baba Ghondi Shrine, the upper most part of Chipursan valley in District Gilgit. Krumber valley is one of the most scenic places and largest alpine meadows in Northern Areas.

This valley was used to be an ancient Buddhist pilgrimage route from Afghanistan & Wakhan corridor. The Krumber Lake is situated in the foot hill of Pamir region on altitude of (4260 m). There is a trek that connects the two districts of Northern Areas i.e. Ghizer and Gilgit. This trek is from Naltar(Gilgit) to Pakora Asumbar (Ishkoman) and Barkulti, (Yasin-Ghizer). This is relatively easy trek passing through village of upper Ishkoman valley and some settlements along the way. This is one of the important trekking routes that is why each year, a considerable number of tourists go along this trek.
Yasin Valley is yet another most spectacular scenic valleys in Ghizer. Yasin valley lies at just 137 km from Gilgit and 62 km from Gahkuch (the headquarter of Ghizer). It’s attractive villages, carefully cultivated fields and orchards offer a blend of life time experience in remote valleys of Hindukush.The summer in Yasin valley has great attraction not only because of scenic beauty but it also offers avenues from adventure lovers because of its treking options from Darkut to Chitral via Broghal pass and BABA Ghundi via Chilingi pass. Darkut is a historical place as it has been a passage way for important persons. It was this pass that George Hayward crossed in 1870 when he was murdered. The Chinese army lead by a Korean General crossed Darkut in 747AD and conquered Gilgit. Sandi is the largest village in Yasin valley and it is famous for a Fort from the time of Gohar Aman.
Phander Valley in Gupis is one of the most scenic valleys with easy access both from Gilgit and Chitral. It takes 5 to 6 hours from Gilgit to reach Phander valley which is commonly called “Little Kashmir”. Phander Lake is one of the most famous tourist spots in the entire region. Phander valley was the bread basket for the whole Northern Areas. The name of Ghizer comes from the name of a village ‘Ghizer’ that is situated in the vicinity of Phander The deep blue lake in Phander offers a magnificent view and is basically the home of trout fish.

Hundarap Valley is a small beautiful place to the west of Phander It lies between two rivers i.e. Hundarap River that come from Dadarili glacier and Shandur river that comes from Shandur Pass. This place is know as Paradise for trout fishing in Ghizer. Nearby is the beautiful Hundarap Lake. This lake is famous for trout fishing and is a good camp site which has been selected as high altitude wetland by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). It lies North 30* and East 72* and is about 190 km from Gilgit and 118 from Gahkuch at an elevation of 10800 feet above sea level. Rainbow and brown Trout fish were introduced here in early 1980s and now they are abundant. This is the reason that angling is quite famous in Ghizer. It is possible to trek south from Dadarili Pass in to Swat valley and on the other side is Bromsa pass connects it with Kohistan Hazra (Khandia). Another hillmark of Gupis is Khalti lake which is again a place for utmost calm and tranquility. A number of steps have been taken by local communities for a tourism and environment friendly tourism. Shandur pass is not only a point that connects Northern Areas with Chitral but it is actually a meeting point of the polo teams from both side. Each year the Shandur Polo Festival brings spectators from around the globe to witness a game that is worth watching. This festival is organized every year between the first and second weeks of July. The history of Trout Fish spans over 100 year in Northern Areas. The British Political Agent AF Bruce introduced the trout fish in (1906-1908). He approached the fisheries department of Jammu and Kashmir Government of Siri Nagar to provide the aged ova and necessary technical assistance up to 1920. During that time Gilgit and surroundings towards northwest streams and lakes were stacked with trout. There are many kinds of trout but in Ghizer only brown and rainbow trout is existent.

Now almost every stream and lake in Ghizer is full of rainbow and brown trout which offer angling opportunity for tourists and visitors to enjoy fishing during the season.
Punyal valley comprises of a number of beautiful villages and spectacular places including Sherqila, Singul and Bubar. Gahkuch, the district head quarter is a part of Punyal. This area is very famous for fruits especially grapes. Bathreth Nullah lies here that provides a link with Darel in Diamer. Traveling to Ghizer is more suitable from Gilgit. From Islamabad to Gilgit, daily flights are available. While on flight, one may enjoy some of the most spectacular views of Karakoram and Himalayas including: Nanga Parbat Haramosh and Rakaposhi peaks. The travel time is 55 minutes. By road the journey from Rawalpindi to Gilgit via KKH takes 16 to 17 hours nonstop travel. Travel from Gilgit to Ghizer (Gahkuch) takes one and half hour on a paved road. Public transport is available from Punial road at Gilgit to almost all parts of Ghizer District beside this there are many local based tour operators who offer trekking and safari services to their client. Another rout to enter district Ghizer is via Shandur Pass from Chitral. It takes around 7 hours to reach Ghizer valley from Chitral city.