Hunza & Nagar, 6-11 July, 2011

[Ace]

AoA,

Recently I untertook a wonderful trip to the majical lands of Hunza and Nagar with my family. We had a great time there and took more than 8 GB of pics. Here, I will share as many pics as possible with narration where applicable. Enjoy!

[Ace]

Our Boarding Passes..

Waiting in the Shalimar Lounge of Benazir International Airport, Islamabad

Our plane ATR-42 geting readied for the 50 min flight.

Our plane being fueled for the journey.

Safety first.

[khanjkkhan]

keep them rolling bro

[Ace]

Instructions Manual

Islamabad from air..

Islamabad Highway..

..and the mountains begin

some more..

Snow capped mountains of Kaghan valley

Kaghan valley..

some more Kaghan valley..

The famed Lake Saif-ul-Malook has lost its charm. Note the absence of glaciers and greenery around it. This is largely due to large scale commercial activities carried out during the tourist season. The natural peace and serenity is no more there.

Snacks... Bon Appetite

[ranasherdil]

Excellant trip

Well narrated...

Just got excited to see more...

[Ace]

Sat Sar Mala lakes?

Lake Lulusar

Track beyond Lulusar lake..

..towards Gitidas..

Babusar Top

Some partialy frozen lakes.

Approaching Nanga Parbat, a.k.a. the killer mountain..

Nanga Parbat in cloud cover..

and again..

..the killer

Nanga Parbat, 8126m (26660 ft) is the 9th highest mountain in the world and 2nd highest in Pakistan.

Amazing..

Notice the sheer size.

Valleys beneath the monster..

Snow capped monster, the Nanga Parbat

[awajid]

excellent ... really made us excited . . thank you

[Ace]

Mount Rakaposhi, 7788m (25551 ft), 27th highest in the world and 12th highest in Pakistan. It is known more for its beauty than its height.

An amazing track...

..approaching Gilgit city

The eagle has landed.

Day-1, Part-1: Islamabad to Gilgit, ends here...

[desertdevil]

Mount Rakaposhi, 7788m (25551 ft), 27th highest in the world and 12th highest in Pakistan. It is known more for its beauty than its height.

An amazing track...

Truely treacherous yet Magestic... good going bro... keep the pics rolling.

[Ace]

After some snacks and refreshments we continued our journey towards our final destination Karimabad, Hunza... now by road.

Gilgit Cantonment

Geting diesel from an old fashioned retro styled petrol station

Crossing Gilgit river

Jinnah Bridge over Gilgit river

Jinnah Bridge

Gilgit river and River View Road on its left bank

Old route to KKH.. the single lane tunnel crossing

Hunza river..

Going towards Nomal..

Hunza river looking back towards Gilgit

..and finaly joined the mighty KKH

Men at Work.. KKH is in terrible shape these days

Spotted: a NCP Toyota Corolla Station Wagon

An old track on the other side of Hunza river

Jagged rocks

This old man was making a living by making clay utensils. Water was running down the slide behind him and was turning a turbine used in moulding the utensils. Ingenious indeed.

Condition of KKH..

A tunnel under construction by the Chinese..

A Chinese camp..

A random shot

[conflicted]

great going bro

[Ace]

Zorro was here..

First view of the majestic Rakaposhi from the KKH

The mighty Rakaposhi

Rakaposhi and Hunza river

Rakaposhi View Point

Mighty Rakaposhi viewd from the View Point

Another shot..

An abandoned ancient village in Nagar

First view of the Lady Finger peak, Karimabad, Hunza

Our welcome basket at Hunza Baltit Inn... fresh cherries

View of Karimabad valley from our hotel

Terrace outside our room

Our room..

Day-1, Part-2: Gilgit to Hunza, ends here...

[3hm3dKhAn]

bot aaalaaaaaaaa....w8ing anxiously for more to come

[ranasherdil]

On which side of plane one should take the seats for enjoying scenes of kaghan valley/nanga parbat from plane? I think from right side???

[Ace]

Day-2 was spent on exploring Karimabad itself. Visited Karimabad bazaar, Baltit Fort, Altit village and Altit Fort etc.

A Jamaat Khana. Hunza is almost 100% Ismaili.

Ultar Sar, 7388m (24239 ft) above Karimabad, Hunza

The 700 year old Baltit Fort, the former seat of Mirs of Hunza.

A musket at display.

Steep path to Baltit Fort.

Karimabad from Baltit Fort.

Ultar Sar, 7388m (24239 ft) above Karimabad, Hunza

A gun position on top of the Fort.

A mineral lamp on the entrance gate of the Fort.

View of Altit Village from Baltit Fort. Altit Fort can be seen on the extreeme right.

[Ace]

On which side of plane one should take the seats for enjoying scenes of kaghan valley/nanga parbat from plane? I think from right side???

From Islamabad to Gilgit take seats on the right and from Gilgit to Islamabad take seats on the left.

[Ace]

Altit fort viewed from Baltit Fort

Our hotel Hunza Baltit Inn and Hunza Darbar hotel viewed from Baltit Fort

Markhor marhoom

Mir of Hunza and his wife

Fort interior

The Agha Khans

Another trophy

Swords..

Traditional Hunza royalty suiting

Mir of Hunza.. hehe.. Nope! thats just me.

View of Karimabad valley

A portrait of Mir of Hunza with his family in Baltit Fort, 1968.

A crib.

The kitchen.

A banner.

[HTZ]

@ACE, Good trip man, I replied to your email about Hunza but i believe it was little too late. In fact i was travelling to Abu Dhabi therefore i could not do it any earlier. Nonetheless it is clear from the photographs that you made the right choices. I am sure Hunza Baltit Inn was the right choice and you enjoyed your stay there.
Thanks for sharing the photographs, reminds me of the good times that i had there.

[HTZ]

And i must add that you have been very lucky to be able to fly out to Hunza in these days. My father was there at the Islamabad airport this morning to catch a flight to Gilgit but the flight got cancelled. He is now coming back to lahore.

[Ace]

@HTZ

Yes brother thankyou for your mail. I just read it. Ironicaly it matched with my trip arrangements. Yes Baltit Inn was an excellent choice. Lot of hassle avoided by staying there. Friendly staff and clean environment. Hunza was magnificient as always. We were stuck too in Gilgit for a day due to bad weather but luckily made it out on the second day.