Shandur Polo Festival

You are met at the airport and taken to rest. In the afternoon you can see Faisal Mosque, the Pir Sohawa viewpoint over the capital and the SuperMarket area for a first taste of local food. The night is in Islamabad.

Night at Hotel, 540 m.

You drive north on the Swat motorway, climb through Dir and pass under the Hindu Kush in the 10.4 km Lowari Tunnel. The road reaches Ayun, the village at the entrance to the Kalash valleys, where the night is spent in a fort guesthouse above the river with gardens and a long view down the valley.

Night at Ayun, 1,050 m.

From Ayun you drive into Bumburet, the largest of the Kalash valleys. You visit the small museum, the Kalasha graveyard and the village centre, and spend time with Kalash families, with music and dancing in the afternoon. In the evening you return to Chitral to sleep beside the river.

Night at Chitral, 1,100 m.

A relaxed day in Chitral. You see the fort of the old Mehtars and the Shahi Mosque in its grounds, walk the bazaar, and drive up to Birmoghlasht for the view over the valley. The slopes there are markhor country, and Tirich Mir stands on the horizon.

Night at Chitral, 1,494 m.

The road follows the river upstream through gorges and green villages, with orchards and stone watchtowers beside the road. Mastuj is the main settlement of the upper valley, and you walk through the village in the evening and meet the people.

Night at Mastuj, 2,359 m.

You climb through the villages of Laspur to the Shandur plateau and make camp beside the polo ground, the highest in the world at 3,700 m. The first matches between teams from Gilgit and Chitral are played in front of a crowd on the grass, and in the evening there is a bonfire, music and dancing around the tents.

Night at Shandur, 3,700 m.

The final between Gilgit and Chitral is the main event of the festival. Both sides have loud and devoted supporters, and the match is fast, rough and fun to watch. When it ends you drive down to Phandar Lake, a green mountain lake with trout, then on to Gupis, also called Khalti, for the night.

Night at Gupis, 2,217 m.

A day down the Ghizer valley into Gilgit, the capital of Gilgit-Baltistan. In the afternoon you walk to the Buddha carved into the rock at Kargah Nala, then through Gilgit bazaar, where a plate of mantu dumplings is the right way to end the day.

Night at Gilgit, 1,500 m.

The Karakoram Highway runs north on the old Silk Road beside the Hunza river, with Rakaposhi and the Nagar peaks across the water. By evening you reach Karimabad, the Hunza capital, with Baltit Fort above the terraces and Ultar Sar in the sky.

Night at Karimabad, 2,500 m.

North through Ganish village to Attabad Lake, which you cross by boat, then through the Pak-China Friendship Tunnels and past Gulmit and Passu. At Dhe you enter Khunjerab National Park, where marmots feed beside the road, and the highway climbs to the border at 4,693 m. You come back down to sleep in Passu.

Night at Passu, 2,500 m.

A walking day among the Wakhi people of Passu. You see the fields and stone houses, take tea in a family home, walk to Borith Lake and cross the swaying Hussaini suspension bridge with the Passu Cones in front of you.

Night at Passu, 2,500 m.

The drive south goes through Chilas and Dassu along the Indus, with the carvings of the old caravan route at Chilas and a view of Nanga Parbat. When the Babusar Pass (4,173 m) is open you can return by the Naran road through the Kaghan valley instead. The night is in Naran or Besham.

Night at Naran or Besham, 2,409 m.

You stop at Taxila for the museum and the Buddhist monasteries and stupas of the ancient Gandhara civilisation. A short drive later you arrive in Islamabad for a farewell dinner with the group.

Night at Hotel, 540 m.

You are taken to the airport in time for your flight home.

540 m.