Hunza & Nagar, 6-11 July, 2011

Travel N Tours

Road Trips / Vacations / Hiking / Trekking

anwarriaz1 (anwarriaz1) 2011-07-15 12:37:42 +0500 #41

Thanks brother, really very attractive and enjoyable pictures.

supra_lover (supra_lover) 2011-07-15 16:46:15 +0500 #42

bohut bohut bohut alla.....very nyce sir g...

abas786 (abas786) 2011-07-15 19:36:47 +0500 #43

Outstanding trip bro.. nice coverage...

Ace (Ace) 2011-07-16 06:36:18 +0500 #44

@ all

Thank you for your appreciation.

hunnyahmed (hunnyahmed) 2011-07-16 07:04:50 +0500 #45

Marvelous thread. Plz tell us about the rates of the Baltit Hotel per night, and also the rent u paid to jeeps for visiting different areas.
Thnx

drtanveerali (drtanveerali) 2011-07-16 07:47:53 +0500 #46

Excellent trip, plz mention step by step expence as well, so that other pakwheelers can make their mind as well. thanks for sharing

Ace (Ace) 2011-07-16 08:01:50 +0500 #47

On Day-4 we started early and first visited Ganish village. This village lies on the ancient Silk Route and is more than 1100 years old. That makes it the oldest continous settlement in Hunza and Nagar region. It was restored by Agha Khan Cultural Services Pakistan in 2001 and won the UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Award in 2002.

In ancient times, when Hunza and Nagar were at war with each other, this pool was used by warriors to train for Hunza river crossing and attack Nagar. It is fed by glacier waters and is appx. 10 ft deep. Today it is used as a natural freezer to store eatables under stone slabs all around it.

This was the Sawab-e-Ha, the village guest house, where merchants, traders and missionaries etc. traveling on the ancient Silk route stayed overnight.

Once there were 14 watch towes all around the village. Now only 3 remain. This one is named Rupikutz.

Entrance to the village.

Village streets.

Shaikutz Mosque, 400-500 year old.

Carvings on the mosque.

Village streets.

Koyukutz mosque, 400-500 year old

Yarikutz mosque, 400-500 year old

Ace (Ace) 2011-07-16 08:10:25 +0500 #48

Tamorukutz-e-Shikar, watch tower.

This street is actualy the original Silk Route, which passed through the village.

I'm standing on the Ancient Silk Route. Felt like a time traveller.

Imambargah. Ganish is a Shia stronghold.

UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Award

Ace (Ace) 2011-07-16 09:27:23 +0500 #49

@ all

I will explain the expense details once I am finished with uploading all the pics.

accord7362 (accord7362) 2011-07-16 10:13:29 +0500 #50

@ACE out class hats off to you you just took me with you, and what a classic detail under each picture

JAZAKALLAHA Kush rahoooo

Ace (Ace) 2011-07-16 10:39:57 +0500 #51

My pleasure sir. Stay with this thread as we move onwards to Hopar village and Bualtar glacier.

Ace (Ace) 2011-07-16 10:54:26 +0500 #52

After visiting Ganish we moved towards our next destination of the day, Hopar village in Nagar. Hopar is actualy a cluster of small hamlets situated at a height of 2790m (9000 ft). Hopar village serves as a staging point for treks to Bualtar glacier (a.k.a. Hopar glacier), Barpu Glacier, Miar Glacier and Rush lake (a.k.a. Rush Phari) etc. Like rest of Nagar it is 100% Shia dominated.

To get to Nagar one has to cross the Hunza river after Ganish. This picture was taken from the Nagar side of Hunza river. Notice the Aqua blue waters of Hunza river on the right mixing with muddy brown waters of Hispar river coming from the mighty Hispar glacier on the left. From here we turned left and followed the Hispar river towards Hopar.

Moving towards Hopar with Hispar river on our right.

Some locals procuring Granite slabs.

The raging galicial waters of Hispar river.

Fresh Appricots.

PuNk (PuNk) 2011-07-16 11:34:38 +0500 #53

Excellent coverage. I explored this area with IJC In 2010. We were not allowed to go beyond a point at Atta Abad. Saw Baltit but didnot saw the Altit. You really covered this area very well.

Ace (Ace) 2011-07-16 14:31:09 +0500 #54

@Punk

Thanks bro.

Ace (Ace) 2011-07-16 15:04:48 +0500 #55

The barren landscape.

Spantik (Golden Peak), 7026m, (22485 ft)

Diran Peak, 7266m, (23251 ft)

Start of Hopar village. Bualtar (Hopar) glacier can been seen in the background.

Hopar village.

Ace (Ace) 2011-07-16 15:34:42 +0500 #56

Hopar village.

Moving towards the end of the road at Hopar Hilton Inn, which can bee seen slightly off-centre to the left between the trees.

Hopar Hilton Inn, our last stop. Its hardly a Hilton :P. The trek to Bualtar glacier starts from here. Guides, porters and cooks etc. can also be arranged from here, if one wishes to embark to Rush lake (3 days trek) or beyond.

The black top Bualtar glacier viewed from a view point above it. Bualtar glacier is the world's only glacier that is below human settlements (its about 300m below Hispar village, which is why it can be viewed from above). It is also the world'd fastest moving glacier, moving approx 8 meters per day. You can actualy hear the sound of ice breaking and water melting. It is approx. 1000 year old and is approx. 20 km long and covers an area of approx 84 Sq kms. It originates from Lesser Korakorums at an elevation of 7250m and terminates at an elevation of 2440m.

Tarns (glacial lakes) on the Bualtar Glacier.

Ace (Ace) 2011-07-16 18:02:21 +0500 #57

A final look at Bualtar glacier before descending towards the beast.

The rocky track goes down some 300 meters to the glacier. It may look easy but trust me, its not. Especialy the climbing back up part. :). A hiking stick is highly recommended. Also, dont forget to take along water supply. I forgot my water bottle in the jeep, a regreted it dearly.

A cattle pen along the way. Some local has chosen to keep his cow at this place for grazing. The ungulate was grazing peacefuly nearby. The bird on top is native to the area. Dont know it's name.

Bualtar glacier's terminal moraine on the left and Diran Peak in the background.

Closeup of Diran Peak. You can spot the Bualtar glacier at its base.

Ace (Ace) 2011-07-16 18:29:16 +0500 #58

A crevasse spotted. The glacier is supposedly 280m (900 ft) deep. Extreme care should be taken when crossing a glacier, especialy this one as its constantly moving and shifting. Fresh snow and debris can hide a deep crevasse. One careless step and you can vanish into icy cold dark abyss of a deep crevasse. A guide is highly recommended.

View from atop the glacier. You can judge the power of the glacier by the size of the boulder that was dragged along by the glacier.

Centuries old ice beneath the rock debris.

Cracked ice in stark contrast with the barren mountains.

River of black ice.

Ace (Ace) 2011-07-16 18:46:03 +0500 #59

Massive cracks in the moving ice and some exposed ice.

The Explorer on top of Bualtar Glacier. While I was on top, I could constantly hear ice cracking, ice falling into God knows what and what sounded like water falls in the distance. The glacier was constantly and surely moaning and groaning. It was truly a surreal experience.

Cones of ice and deep crevasses.

Notice the size of these boulders that the glacier has dragged along. Amazing isn't it?

Some local Hopar women crossing the Bualtar Glacier with collected wood on their backs. Locals routinely cross this glacier to collect fire wood from the other side of the valley. The route across the glacier however, changes daily because of its speed.

Ace (Ace) 2011-07-16 18:59:35 +0500 #60

Moving back towards Hunza.

A NATCO bus coming up towards Hopar. It was quite surprising as the road was quite steep and narrow and I didn't expect a bus this size here.

Later in the evening, went for some souvenior shopping in Karimabad bazaar, Hunza.

Some local artifacts.

Jems procured from the mountains.

Spotted: A local truck model .

Traditional Hunza cap.

Day-4: Ganish village, Hopar village and Bualtar Glacier, ends here...