The Hunza Valley is that place in the world which best describes the word “beautiful.” It’s so beautiful that one can feel like being inside some wallpaper or painting. Beauty which is randomly distributed everywhere else, but here the nature has tried to amend. 

Its remote location, farthest from the settled areas, has given the Valley a less chaotic outlook and more pleasant appeal. Locals manage so well the limited tourists they receive. They are able to show their hospitality with full potential. Anyone can find any spot and might manage to spend the whole day without being disturbed. It’s a beautiful valley with peaceful dwelling.

In a way, the Kashmir conflict has given the locals a chance to have certain benefits not possible in other areas. There are no rivals investors here. Not even the businessmen and industrialists from different parts of Pakistan own any properties, restaurants, or shops here. It gives the valley a unique taste found only in this region. 

That is why this place is far better than Muree, Pakistan’s most famous hill station, because this valley maintains its real shape and color. Hence, people are likely to hold the memories of this place for a long time since they are not likely to experience anything similar anywhere else in the country.

History resolves puzzles far quicker than the minds anticipate events. Therefore, I wish to witness all the human history in its entirety to understand the reality. Somehow, a holistic experience should be the way forward. For that purpose, I wish I had a time machine to travel different ages and times. 

To me, one of the closest encounters of a time travel was to visit the Hunza Valley. It has so much history to offer. In its magnificent Baltit fort, I would imagine the royal ceremony which took place several hundred years ago. Another fort, the Altit fort, makes me go deeper, thousands of years in past, to see how earliest wars and battles took place in the ancient times. 

The Karakoram Highway built on the ancient Silk Road is visible from the windows and balconies of the Altit Fort. It makes me feel like a time traveler assuming that the contemporary road was once the world’s first major world connectivity. Thus, as a history enthusiast, it’s always a wonderful experience to visit the Hunza valley.

If there is a place in Pakistan where foreign travelers and adventurists could be seen, it’s the Gilgit Baltistan. Some of the greatest mountaineers could be seen enjoying tea outside stalls in this mountainous region. Some great bikers and bicyclists would be passing from the Karakoram Highway, a road often dubbed as the eighth wonder of the world. 

Hunza, the jewel of Gilgit Baltistan, is ever ready to host the foreigners just like the entire Gilgit Baltistan. In one such visit by Prince Charles and Agha Khan, the locals tried their utmost to make the experience of their guests as memorable as possible. 

Surprisingly, these people are more educated than the rest of rural Pakistan. The literacy rate is 90 percent in Hunza. They understand the importance of education. That is why they have high awareness of preserving their culture and historical sites. 

Though the government of Pakistan hasn’t done much for them, many international countries and foundations have added to the development of these people.

The international world and an open minded Ismaili community have added to the increasing gender equality and women empowerment ranks in the Hunza Valley. The level of tolerance in this society is much more than any other mountainous valley of Pakistan. 

Their women are educated. They enjoy comparatively more rights and are integral members of their society. Every morning, several little girls come out of their homes with school bags on their shoulders and go towards the schools.

There is a reason why spiritualists or artists visualize the paradise in the form of mountainous valleys. I agreed when visited the Hunza Valley. When sunlight strikes the curves of rocks on mountain tops, when rivers flow with utmost thrill and excitement, when lakes are blessed with immensely saturated colors, when clouds begin to move ever so slowly and on the surface, when grassy lands cover the terrain like carpets cover the royal halls, when flowers spread their fragrance from a distance of million miles, no wonder British termed this place as Asian Paradise.