Silk Road 10: Gilgit to Skardu, Pakistan

Started early from Gilgit (Serena) after a nice breakfast (usually included in hotel room price).

Gilgit valley and town from the Serena Hotel

Off to school, Gilgit early morning

After about 30kms on the KKH, we branched off where we had a great view of the Hindu Kush range meeting the Himalaya range and the Karakorum range. This is also the point where the Hunza river joins the Indus river.

Beautiful valley where the Hindu Kush, Karakorum and Himalaya mountain ranges met.

The road was now a Pakistani rural road i.e. it was about 1.25 cars wide and traffic went in both directions on this road, which weaved along the valley with the Indus River. Trucks also use this road, as that is the only way to deliver goods to Skardu and Khaplu. The drivers were always courteous to each other. This was the Silk Road that accessed Kashmir in Northern India.

Road quickly deteriorated once we left the KKH

The road condition was generally not good, and this short drive of 245kms took 6+hrs to do with breaks along the way. This drive is best described as being one of the most amazing, exhilarating and adventurous drives in the world.

Beautiful scenery; green vegetation only along the water channel, above the Indus River

Many such suspension bridges with wooden planks across the Indus river; all built by the Pakistani Army

Everything is trucked in and out from Skardu via this Gilgity-Skardu Road

Note the interesting landscape and the waterfalls behind and above the minivan

Beautiful kids

Rural outdoor school classroom.

Rural School

Interesting decorated trucks

Road snakes along the Indus river valley

Road snakes along the Indus river valley

Amazing scenery continues

Workaround the avalanched huge rock

Sometimes scary roads; will that rock above the road stay there until after I have passed?

Majestic scenery dwarfing the snaking road

Dear Rocks, please stay put 🙂

Small villages where flat irrigated land was possible

People live in remote and precarious places to work and mine the Himalayas (below) for its semi-precious stones

Pictures cannot do justice to the raw beauty of this drive.

At one point, there was also a 100% natural, 100% organic car wash ☺.

100% natural, 100% organic car wash 🙂

We passed incredible views, and multiple villages along the way, and multiple police checkpoints, and at each district crossing, we had an FFC (Foreigners Facilitation Center) where our documents were examined, and questions about our intentions, our journey etc. were asked, and documented on paper.

Police checkpoint queue

The villages all had running water, electricity and sewage, just like in Hunza valley. There were multiple rope pulley bridges over the Indus river, with a small platform on which people sat and pulled themselves across the river to the other side. We did not experience this as Dilshad refused to go on one of these. ☹

Pulley platform where people would pull themselves across the Indus river.

Precarious

Rural road and bridge

Dizzying waterfall heights

This one Seriously scared me

We stopped for lunch at AstakNala, which is a small town half way between Giglit and Skardu. We stopped at the PDTC Motel (Pakistani Govt run motels that provide good and clean basic accommodation to travelers) as they always had clean bathrooms. To our surprise, the Manager there, Imran Ulla Beg, was an Ismaili from Hunza who Zafar and Abbas knew well. So after tea here we went across the road for a riverside lunch

At PDTC motel AstakNala (in back), with Imran, the manager, who also was from Hunza

Lunch at roadside/riverside cafe, AstakNala

There were multiple single lane suspension bridges with wooden slats over the Indus river, and all traffic used them, one vehicle or truck at a time, slowly. Photographs of bridges, police and army installations were forbidden, but had to sneak a few in 🙂

Dilshad and Abbas on typical suspension bridge

One lane suspension bridge, wooden slats, 5mph max speed, no photographs allowed

Engaging young schoolchildren

Stalled trucks added to the excitement of narrow road, and very steep mountainsides

Local bus; dwarfed by the size of the rocks

Intricate artwork

The chic with Shy smile

Boys were bold

Mosque

Micro Hydro electric power (~1MW) station

The Indus river was very fast moving up to now, but in Skardu it was a wide plain river, with lots of white sand and with the wind, the white sand would get spread everywhere.

Indus river near Skardu; the winds caused sand to fly…..

We went to the famed Shangri-La hotel at Lake Kachura for high tea.

At the famous Shangri-La hotel

Beautiful mountains backdrop for Shangri-La Hotel

Then into Skardu to our hotel. Took a while to find our hotel as it was in a remote (quiet) area and a little bit out of the town of Skardu. Once settled in, we went back into the town for some walking and shopping. That is when Dilshad noticed that there were no women walking around the town; not a single one.

So Dilshad got stared at, but being a foreigner, no issue. This is probably one of few places I have been to where women were simply not visible outside the home. This must obviously be a very conservative place. Later on, we found out this area was called the Purdah Bazaar; ladies unseen

Skardu Polo ground

Beautiful backdrops, strategic Kharphocho Fort and mountains in background

Skardu market area

Skardu

Fresh chickens; color coded

After the walk through the town with obligatory Polo grounds, decide to have dinner at the hotel as it was getting dark. The hospitality industry here is well developed and the people worked hard to please guests and foreigners. Due to lack of tourists, you get great service. Refreshingly nice. Then hit the sack.

Silk Road 11 next