Sorry guys... I know its been a while, and there have been plenty of events happening around in my life. To my delight, I have done the same trip twice this year, with new stories to tell, and that’s the motivation behind completing this thread and starting a new one with more pics to come...
So I was sharing with you the Day 7 in Hunza Valley, and things were mesmerizing.... I took a long nap, while staring at the mighty Ultar and Rakaposhi peaks from the window of the Hunza Darbar Hotel.
Soon family returned, tired and hungry. Once again we checked in Hidden Paradise and Food was ordered...
We started off with the Traditional Soup.
Followed by the Chapp Shuru (A Pizza Kind)
and after the lunch we were treated with the local peaches... I bet we never had such a nice tender peaches in life.. The skin of the fruit just slips away to reveal the sweet and out of earth tastes of the peaches.
After filling up the tummies we went to visit the famous Baltit fort just to reminds of the time we came earlier in this valley. Hunzakuts were sitting over the streets procrastinating.
The steap road takes you the junction of the start of the trek to Ultar Nala and Eagle's Nest. Street life observed there was calm and everyone was deligted to see us and help us with soft tongue, very seldom seen in the big cities.
Time stood still when I reached at the doorsteps of the famous Baltit Fort in Central Hunza. Centuries of human endeavor, of trial and error, stand ready to guide me into my journey into the time.
The earthly paradise in the shadow of the Karakorum was dreamed up so many times. there is no question in my mind that this is the place that has inspired so many to travel all the way from the other side of world to feel the energy this place has been producing in the mind of so many travelers.
It seems to be a story within a story - an adventure in time and space, while walking up the Steps in Time, I entered into the Past.
The history of the fort is complex and not precisely known. If we rely on local folk then the fort was build some 600 years ago when a princess of Baltistan married the reigning Prince of Hunza. Hunza at that time consisted of three villages after its division from Nagar. Altit and Ganesh on the river cliffs and Baltit high above. The Princess's father is reputed to have sent with the bride an army of Balti masons, carpenters and craftsmen who build the two forts of Altit and Baltit as part of the royal dowry.
Life inside the fort was organized according to the well-ordered room arrangement and new rooms were added for new functions. On the ground floor the oldest room such as queen's apartment, the storage rooms, prison and kitchen show a very traditional way of life, and were used in winter as they were warmer.. and the larger size rooms at the first floor were normally being used in summer which provide more comfortable living with better lighting.
Right in front of you is the main junction point of all the rooms at the ground floor and the stairs to go to first floor.
A view from the centre window of the fort is certainly the view for the king. A visit to such places provides tranquillity to one’s being. It helps connect a hassled city dweller to the long lost he; disconnected from his own self amidst stress, tension and fast pace that life demands. The simple, uncomplicated living of the mountainous people who are no less forward than their city counterparts hailing any where in the world teach every human being the necessity to stay attached to mother nature and come to its lap from time to time. This perhaps is the only mantra to live life- one that is happy, healthy and wise.
It's not very often that a monarch willingly relinquishes his own castle, but Ghazanfar Ali Khan II, a descendant of the ruling Mirs (or Kings) of Hunza in Pakistan's mountainous north, believed that his ancestral home, the Baltit Fort, would be better off in the hands of someone who knew how to take care of it. Seven hundred years' worth of earthquakes, avalanches and neglect had turned it into a rubble-strewn heap, prompting the Mir to turn it over to the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, embarked on a restoration, which took six years - and the results are stunning. Taken apart stone by stone and rebuilt using both modern and traditional methods, the fort has risen from its ruins. Once a British traveler described Baltit as "the most amazing fortress ever built." Today, it would be fitting to describe it as the most amazing fort ever rebuilt.
Dinning hall of Baltit Fort, Karimabad, Hunza, Northern Pakistan. With wonderful lights and seating arrangement and with very deafening silence...
I sat there relaxing for more than 10 min.. feeling the mix of present and ancient traditions.
Hunza claims recognition for the longevity of its people and its unparalleled beauty. The secret of the long life-span of Hunza Kuts is attributed to a simple diet, and an invigorating climate.
Talking about the diet... Here is the view of their centuries old kitchen at Baltit Fort. The kitchen used be full of activities during the cooking of foor for the agricultureal festivals. Those festivals still occur and have the same traditional food and the events...
A love for tradition has never weakened a nation, indeed it has strengthened nations in their hour of peril” ~ Winston Churchill ~
The tour to Baltit Fort take you back 700 years ago. According to historical sources, the Hunza rulers initially resided in the Altit Fort, but later, as a result of a conflict between the two sons of the ruler Sultan, Shah Ababas "Shaboos" and Ali Khan, shifted to Baltit Fort making it the capital seat of Hunza. The power struggle between the tow brothers eventually resulted in the death of the younger one, and so Baltit Fort further established itself as the prime seat of power in the Hunza Valley.
The presence of the Dynasty can still be felt across the corridors of Baltit Fort. Dim Lights, Traditional Decor, Ancient Carving just play a beautiful drama