Once during the colonial rule, a famous British writer visited the Hunza valley. Mr. James Hilton stayed there for sometime before publishing his best seller “the Lost Horizon.” Many features of his mythical Shangri La resemble the Hunza. This valley is one of the very few mountainous settlements isolated from rest of the world between some of the world’s great mountains. For eight months, this place is difficult to reach either from Pakistan or China because of the heavy snowfall affecting the Karakorum Highway, a dangerous high altitude road and often referred as the eight wonder of the world. The Hunza valley, with all its features, seems to be that lost paradise all the writers and adventurists are searching for so long.

This valley is located in the extreme north of Pakistan. It was formerly a princely state and currently a part of Gilgit Baltistan. Its history goes back several thousand years but the oldest surviving monument, the Shikari watchtower, was built about eleven hundred years ago. Many people from different parts of the world and different religions have settled here since time immemorial. The Hindus, Buddhists, and Muslims ruled this valley in different times and ages. Central Asian and Chinese Huns settled here some two thousand years ago. Also, the pagan religion was dominant before the arrival of Islam. These people used to practice Shamanism in Hunza. It was some sort of a belief in spirits and inner healing.

Hunza is famous for its natural beauty as much as the ancient history. Like children draw sketches of valleys where rivers flow in between mountains, the Hunza is exact depiction of such a mountainous valley. That is the reason British termed it as the “Asian Paradise.” Surely, it catches the imagination of a paradise. If you stand on top of the Baltit Fort or view the valley from a site known as Eagle’s Nest, it all appears to be the most picturesque and heavenly site to watch. Hunza is so beautiful it’s hard to believe it really exists.

The Murree town, once the British India’s summer headquarters in 1870s, is Pakistan’s most popular hill station today. Certainly, it is the first choice of tourists seeking comfort in the mountains. Very few tourists from plains would bother to go higher areas like Hunza Valley. But is Murree the ideal valley town? It looks vibrant but crowdy and congested. It’s basically a hill station. Hunza, on the other hand, is an ideal mountainous valley settlement. Therefore, the experience of being at Hunza is entirely different than being at any hill station like Murree or Shimla.

To reach the Hunza, however, requires some effort and travelling through much of the Gilgit Baltistan. The mountains of Gilgit Baltitstan region, where Hunza is located, are not the most pleasant looking mountains especially if we experience the raw beauty of Murree to Naran areas. The reason is that the later have enormously green and fairly moderate size mountains. They look nice and grassy, sometimes like forests in high altitudes. 

On the other hand, Gilgit Baltistan is the home to one of the world’s highest mountains. Out of only 14 eight thousander mountains in the world, some 5 are located here. Nature obviously makes it tough to reach these wonders. One can argue that the highest mountains have their own beauty but there is no denying the fact that the region is a tough place to be at. Its roads are difficult to drive, grassy mountains suddenly turn into giant rock structures devoid of life, dangers of landslides and glaciers melting are often high. Thus, the Gilgit Baltistan, a home of Hunza valley, is more for the adventurists willing to travel on long roads for a long time than just families seeking a one day casual journey.

But nature has its ways to surprise us. The harsh mountains of Gilgit Baltistan hide in them a beautiful valley like the wealthiest hide their treasure in some protected place. After the mountains scrutinize us and finally give us their approval to visit, we reach a stretch of land in between mountains known as Hunza. It greets us well and appears to be one of the most peaceful places. It’s a well crafted valley from all aspects. Hunza is truly a jewel of Gilgit Baltistan.

Things are so peaceful here that the whole area proves out to be an antidote of worldly problems and worries. Hunza is a calm and relaxing place. It’s peaceful and prosperous. The locals too are hospitable. They give enough space to let the travelers absorb all the wonders of the nature without being unnecessarily disturbed.

Hunza Valley will always be one of my most favorite places to visit because it has all the ingredients which make it more than just beautiful. The high snowy mountains, purest water from glaciers, multi-directional view points in the valley, a beautiful lake nearby, several historical places like forts and well preserved ancient villages, a rich and vibrant culture, and most importantly very humble and hospitable people, everything about Hunza is so appealing that it’s hard to not fall in love with it.

In the beautiful Hunza valley, we reached the Karimabad area. It is also known as Baltit town. This place won the World Award for tourism in 2000 where countries like Indonesia and India also competed. The Guardian ranked it as one of the top five tourist sites in Pakistan. The town is quite tourist friendly. It has several hotels and restaurants built by locals to promote tourism in the valley.

We decided to stay at Hunza View Hotel. It was a medium size, low budget, hotel situated on one side of a hill overlooking much of the valley. The left side was blocked by mountains so only view available was to the right side. Many hotels covered that hill and spread as far as I could see. All the hotels had outstanding view because they were built on the same hill but separated by much distance as per different elevation.

Different hotels in the Karimabad's hill side area offered extremely beautiful and entirely personal view sites from their rooms and balconies. Something like that was better than any of the luxurious hotels found in Los Angeles Hills or Spain’s La Zagaleta Hills, Marbelle city could ever afford to provide their customers. Nature was the owner here, the most generous owner. The only issue was of man made resources and lack of facilities being part of the third world. But the affordability factor was highly impressive. Spending a quality time looking at wonderful sites for just 20 to 30 dollars a day in these hotels is something very special.

Our Hotel, the Hunza View, was a recently constructed hotel with three floors, one large dining hall, a terrace, and an accessible rooftop. The hotel was a simple deal, nothing special, but had all the necessary features to a minimum level. Of course, the natural view was their best feature.

My room was on the second floor. They had a lovely view from the gallery. Many mountains of different curvature having snow covered peaks were visible from a close range. The clouds were moving around and below these mountains. Sometimes they reached as low as half the size of mountains. It was all misty out there, it was all magical. The 'Hunza peak' was one of the most prominent peaks, about 20 thousand ft high, and another peak known as 'lady finger' was standing next to it. The 'Ultar Sar' Mountain, a seven thousand meter giant, was just 10 km away from the settled area of Baltit/Karimabad town.

From the reception to the dining hall on third floor, the entire hotel was decorated with pictures and paintings. The paintings were not too expensive but had a perfect view and concept. One side of stairway was full of small pictures covered in glass frames. They were their elders in cultural dress and rural lifestyle. My room had a huge portrait of Hunza’s traditional woman in cultural dress and ornaments. It was so big a picture, I am sure every person who ever lived in that room must have spent a lot of time staring at it.

The hotel provided with plenty of food choices. Mostly, they had regular dishes, the ones we have in Pakistan. I don’t know why but I vomited in post breakfast time. I am still not sure the reason, may be travel sickness. I can’t entirely blame on the food though. 

Many visitors had drinking water dilemma in the entire Hunza Valley. The local Hunza water is unusually different. It has a different gravity. I think, maybe it’s because the water comes directly from glaciers, but then it has specific gravity. Our waiter explained that some research has been done suggesting that Hunza water is healthy but some of us were not comfortable at all. Some liked the taste while others hate it, so we had a divided opinion. Many just preferred to use regular mineral water.

Hunza has another famous drink also known as Hunza water. But it’s not water. It’s actually a unique kind of “Wine” produced locally in the region. The Hunza water/wine is now prohibited by the government as per Islamic rules but limited access is granted to the foreigners or non muslims. It’s not easily available though. During our visits to ancient forts we saw that they had several hidden pits and cellars for making this specific wine in those ancient places. Some of the chambers were many centuries old. It suggests that the Hunza wine has been part of their culture since several hundred years.

The terrace view in the hotel was beautiful but the one from rooftop was simply special. The access to terrace was from the dining hall at third floor while the way to rooftop was from backside of the terrace. Roof was difficult to climb. There were no permanent stairs, just a wooden ladder which was broken from some parts. It was potentially a risky job to climb but we did it anyway.  And we were rewarded with splendid view at the top.

The whole Karimabad area and multiple other distant places were also visible from our hotel’s rooftop. In general, we were surrounded by ultra high mountains from all sides. A sizable settlement though covered the space around us but only as far as the nearby mountains allowed. Hunza River was flowing from right to left. It was like the river flow took a U-turn from some place we were looking at. Multiple hotels were visible on my back side or from the side we climbed the roof. They all had separate space in the hill with nearly similar views.

Hunza looked pleasing to eyes from anywhere we saw it. Misty mountains appeared unusually tall. Their snow covered peaks looked gorgeous. Clouds moved all over them but they were moving ever so slowly. They stopped for a while to prolong their stay in the beautiful valley. Many flowers were blooming there, many fruits hanging from the trees. During springtime and pleasant summers, beauty of Hunza is simply overloaded.

Hunza’s natural atmosphere gives a pleasant feeling. It’s so calm and quite here.  It’s an ideal remote area, a worthy escape into the nature. Hunza contains all the qualities of a natural rural atmosphere. But the infrastructure is also up to the mark though not the most luxurious. People have found their ways to survive and sustain their lifestyles. They care about their history and culture. They have preserved some of the ancient villages and are taking care of their heritage.

Despite their efforts, these people require government support. Some of their major issues include, electricity shortage and lack of natural gas supply. The hotel administration where we stayed was all the time busy in providing alternate power supply and warm our water supply lines but that was not enough. They were struggling to keep up the standards.  Often we were led down because they couldn’t run generators 24 hours a day. Further, the cold water made it difficult to visit the washrooms early mornings. They had electric heaters because they didn't have natural gas supply, but those devices too were useless because they also had no electricity most of the times.

Issues were there but we as a nation have become used to them in Pakistan. We have become immune to these troubles. We don’t seem to feel the pain anymore. Ghalib, the famous Urdu language poet says, “Ranj Sey Khugar Hua Insan Tu Mit Jata Hai Ranj, Mushkilein Itni Pari Key Asan Hogayeen.” It means that when human being becomes used to the problems, then they start fading away. When difficulties become sufficiently severe, they lose their intensity and vigor.

So, we just continued looking at the positives during our visit. History, culture, and natural landscape were some of the positives about Hunza. People were also very nice. Our stay at Hunza View hotel gave us an idea of all that. Hints of their history and culture were everywhere in the form of pictures and paintings they had in the hotel’s reception area, stairways, halls, and living rooms. They usually responded to our needs with utmost urge and hospitality which gave us an idea of the Hunza in general. 

Tourists matter to the people of Hunza because they help their economy to sustain. There is not much else to do in the mountainous area especially when the land is reduced in size by nature. Therefore, one of the permanent things about Hunza is that it will always remain the same. 

At reception area of our hotel, one of the staff members told, “We have eight months of winter every year.  Few manage to visit even in summers because of our remote location far away from mainland Pakistan. Whereas, hardly anyone visits during winters since all the roads are most of the time blocked due to snowfall. Even then, somehow, if you ever manage to make it to Hunza during winters, then we ensure that the hotels would charge so less that you’ll almost feel like living for free.”

On our last day at Hunza Valley, the hotel management arranged a bonfire gathering for us. Many of their staff members joined outside in a small park owned by the hotel. It was about 9:00 pm that evening. The night started wearing the dark dress, moon began compensating with bright silver light, and snowy mountain peaks were glowing ever so brightly. People began gathering tinder and kindling material, then placed larger firewood into the newly made pit. Someone was about to lit the fire. The bonfire gathering was about to begin. It finally did.

As the fire intensified, so was the spirit of people around it. Our hosts came one by one and performed their cultural dance. I have never seen such a dance in my life. Men are hardly known for their dance in my region, but these people were different. There was some aroma of nobility in their moves. Men in beard and feather mounted caps were slowly and slowly moving with rhythmic beats of folk musicians. They were slowly merging into the color of nature. They finally did.

Their dance was probably the indigenous style locals have transferred each other through generations. I would divide the dance performance into three phases. Firstly, the locals were trying to copy the moves of creatures like peacock and horse. Their dance was inspired by nature’s creation. Secondly, they copied royal styles where they expressed elegance and strength through their slow and gentle movements. Those moves translated how respectable men or royal blood would express when becomes happy or reach the state of ecstasy. Final phase was when they asked everyone to join and participate before ending the proceedings and until the fire completely extinguished.

The Hunza Chacha (Uncle), as he is known in the valley, was one of the leading performers in the bonfire gathering. A humble man with long beard was not only a skilled dancer but could play multiple instruments at will. Someone told me that he could play flute with perfection. His performance can be described in one word, “elegance.” As rhythmic as any performer could ever be, I thought his moves were mixture of Chinese Tai Chi and Buddhists meditation, all incorporated into dance.

The fire in the woods started diminishing slowly but surely. They asked us to join. I was shy enough to seek an excuse as I was recording their performance. Other fellows conceded to their demands. They encircled the fire and kept moving with specific moves of hands and feet. The process continued until the musicians started slowing down along with the deteriorating intensity of fire.

In the final moments when fire breathed its last, I looked up to the night sky, eyes on the shinning moon above ultra high mountains. That bright silver light touching the snowy mountain peaks was an extraordinary sight to watch. Nature was too beautiful around the flames of fire. In the colors of that night, I realized my life would have been incomplete had I not witnessed those moments in reality.

Baltit Fort is the most famous tourist attraction in the Hunza Valley. It is one of the most decorated and well equipped historical sites. Though many ancient sites in Pakistan would exceed in importance like the Mohan Jo Daro city or Taxila but their artefacts have been shifted to different museums. Baltit, however, is different. It is adorned with all the jewelry and preserved objects of old days. With mighty heart, the rulers have graciously donated everything to the heritage trust. From medieval era dressing to British era telephones, the fort is fully furnished as if the Kings and Queens still live there.

This fort is a medieval times fort. According to carbon dating samples, it was built nearly eight hundred to nine hundred years ago. It was a gift, a part of marriage dowry, when princess of Baltistan married the ruler of Hunza. It seems that the fort has stopped aging after that grand marriage ceremony. It appears as if the time has stopped there. History is very much alive in these walls. It is breathing and conscious in these structures.

This fort is situated at the highest point of settled Hunza Valley. The mighty Baltit has such a commanding location, one wonders if the hill where the fort was built came into existence some millions of years ago only to serve the purpose of being the fort's construction site. The settled population below and the high mountains above, all present a view which is hard to imagine for real and in dreams. 

Perhaps, I could find a similarity between Baltit and a site called “Machu Picchu.” The height of these two sites is somewhat similar, nearly eight thousand feet. Both have commanding view of the surrounding. Both appeal to our imagination as best places people ever lived.

But there is a difference of view from there. The Machu Pichu is a lost city built on a mountain peak whereas the Baltit is a fort built on a peak but has a presently inhabited Baltit city view below its balcony. Further, the Andes Mountain range doesn't rise more than nine thousand feet around the Machu Pichu whereas the Karakorum mountains rise well over twenty thousand feet around the Baltit.

There is a long street which comes before the fort becomes visible to eyes. That street is vertically going upward till it reaches the foundations of the fort.

There are shops and restaurants on both sides of the street at the beginning. Different traditional clothes, dry fruit stalls, herbal stores, cultural ornaments, hiking equipment, and several restaurants are found in that congested street.

Just when the vertical Baltit Street starts going upward, there is a small restaurant located on its right side. It is known as Café De Hunza. I stayed there for a lunch meal. They can offer sandwiches and all but their special food is a desert famous among tourists.

The café is located on the first floor of a two story building with a shop on its ground floor. The whole building is owned by a local family. The man who owned this place has died recently. As a result, his younger son and a daughter run the family business. Both siblings appeared to be young and educated.

What surprised me was that the shop below restaurant had no one to look after. The girl and boy both were working on first floor. But there was a system to keep track whoever visited the shop. Once the door opened, some melodious bell started ringing. 

The whole setup suggested that the valley had no security related issues. Hunza was not only beautiful but also safe. It’s odd to imagine that they had such an environment. It’s hard to believe such place exists in Pakistan.

As the street ends, a large structure of Baltit Fort becomes visible. It looks more like a house or a mansion than a fort. There is plenty of space around the building for tourists to stay and view the town from top. Everything from there looks extremely beautiful and highly pleasing. We stayed there sometime for photo session and waited for our turn to get tickets.

For the first few minutes after we entered the fort, everything appeared to be dark or dim. They had a low lighting system in there. No one explained the purpose behind it. Then after sometime, we were able to see and adjust properly. 

Almost all doors in the fort had small size. They were like doors made for hobbits. The guide told the logic behind it. First of all, such size served for defense purposes in case of breach. Secondly, the area has about eight months of winter season. It’s very cold out there. So, in that sense, the small doors served to keep the fort warm during winters.

The stairs led us to main room which was a public place or a tax collecting room. There was hidden chamber on the floor with a hatch to open it. In old times, the local army or royal guards used to collect tax in the form of food, wheat or grains, and store there. 

Our guide was standing at the first room which I mentioned earlier as the tax collecting room. He looked like Pashtun but I am sure he was a native. His English language skills were good and he seemed to know a lot about the fort. May be, he was from the heritage trust.

A foreigner was also there visiting the fort. She was in army dress and accompanied by Pakistani soldiers. I can’t say for sure which nationality she belonged but she appeared to be from China or somewhere from the East Asia.

Most of the rooms in the fort were fully furnished. With different artefacts of different ages surviving at one place, it appeared as if the history has somehow blended in the sands of time. From the ancient to medieval to colonial times, everything seemed to be well preserved inside the Baltit fort.

The Kitchen area was one of the most interesting places in the fort along with a large drying room. The kitchen was also the oldest area in the building. It is from here that the scientists took carbon dating samples to find out the exact age of the fort. It turned out to be around 800-865 years. Samples were taken from centuries old wood ceiling. The cold atmosphere of the area prevented the ceiling from deterioration and no insect ever tasted or attempted to destroy it.

The drying room or a large room was one of the most beautiful rooms of Baltit fort. The place had glass windows installed by British during colonial times. Its colors were scattering with the sunlight passing through them. Multiple glass shades added much to the beauty of this room. The outside view was incredible from the windows. Different musical instruments were placed on the other end. It suggests that the rulers of Hunza were very fond of music.

Many of the rooms were decorated with paintings and pictures of important figures and royal members. In one such room, the whole hierarchy of rulers was shown in the form of pictures. Their spiritual leaders were also shown there.

During sidewalks, we came across different medieval clothes preserved behind large glass frames. They showed the prevailing culture of past. For a moment, I thought I was in the age of Kings and Queens. 

Once I reached the rooftop of Baltit Fort, I felt like I had reached the heaven. It was an epic view. High mountains were gazing from a distance and we were reciprocating with same. It appeared as if we were in the clouds, above everything. It appeared as if we were flying. Only after watching the world from there, I came to know what might have inspired the colonial British to term Hunza as the Asian Paradise. It certainly felt like being in a paradise from the top of Baltit Fort.

Unlike the road to Baltit Fort which goes vertically upward towards the hill top, the road to Altit fort is fairly straight and of different appeal all together. It is not that magical in any sense like Baltit but gives an idea of ancient people and their previous lifestyles. When I was walking towards it, I felt like I was walking into some sort of time machine which was destined to take me into the farthest times in past. This is one of the places where ancient past lives with the present. It stays here forever.

The street which takes to the fort is small and congested. Around it and especially on the left side is an ancient Hunza village. Our guide told us that this village has been preserved for the future generations to see how their elders used to live. Most of the houses were empty, but it appeared as if many poor natives had found a sanctuary in those ruins.

Altit is where humans exceed the nature in terms of grace. It’s a personal opinion that Baltit is a place for enjoying the natural scenery whereas Altit is for understanding and observing the ancient as well as contemporary lifestyles associated with the people of Hunza.

The women of Altit village, for instance, can serve as a better precedent about understanding deeply the society and culture of the Hunza valley. Some of the factors include the rural aspects of Altit village and how technology has still not yet disturbed the natural flow of life there.

I felt that their women were more empowered than rest of the rural Pakistan's women.  They were enjoying a considerable freedom unheard in other areas. They were able to walk freely in the streets without worry of household and had quality time outside in nature. Something like that is not associated with the conservative mountainous people in Pakistan.

As we were walking from the road towards the fort, some local women waved Salams (greetings) to us for our status as guests in their village. Such a precedent, “women waving Salams to strangers as a sign of respect for guests” is unheard anywhere else in the rural Pakistani society.  They seemed to be living in a different world altogether. As I imagine, they seem to be living in the Shangri La, the lost paradise in the mountains.

The fort began to show its glimpses when we reached the end of the street. Its shape was such that the fort looked like a conglomeration of multiple towers but in fact had only one. It used to have many but all were demolished especially during the British conquest. They left only one intact, may be at the request of locals. That watchtower is now the oldest surviving monument of Hunza Valley.

The building was old and dusty. It had a brownish grey color. It lacked royal flavor. One can’t get a feeling that this could have been a palace for Kings and Queens like Baltit Fort. But this one certainly looked like a genuine fort and not a mere royal residency. One can easily imagine that once a powerful military general might have lived here, someone whose presence can still be felt in the fort.

The Altit Fort also had small doors like the Baltit Fort. The inside was equally dark and dim. The structure didn’t look that solid. It was a combination of bricks, mud and clay. Some large prison followed below the floor. The interior of the fort was not impressive at all but its remarkable how a thousand years old structure still stood strong on its foundations.

We kept moving and reached a place where our guide was standing with fresh water bottle in his hands. He was ready for a decent presentation. From his facial features, he matched the Central Asian or Chinese. No surprise, he began by mentioning the ancient links between Hunza and China. He said the word Hunza is derived from China’s Huns dynasty.

One of the first things he introduced us was the structure known as “Standing Grave.” It was a pillar made of mud and clay. The King had a younger brother who wanted to dethrone him. He turned this fort into a launch pad of rebellion against the King. But he lost the battle and was ordered to be buried alive in a pillar as punishment. The guide said, “Archaeologists and scientists have evaluated this pillar and they confirm the presence of a skeleton of some man at standing position inside it.”

Like scientists and archaeologists who have scanned the pillar known as Standing grave to evaluate the presence of standing corpse, there is a need for ghost hunters to search the area as well. The vibe is not that pleasant in the fort.

In those dark rooms where there is no light, a huge prison follows the floor beneath. This military purpose fort has a history of torture and pain. Many cries can be heard silently. Many souls have stuck in their past and desire for a second coming, plead for another chance, to make things right.

A supposedly tragic ghost story in which a man from standing grave, once aspired to be the King, has lost his goal. His unfulfilled dream to rule might not let anyone make a permanent residency in this fort. If only he were a King, the fate of Altit would have been better than Baltit.

One of their spiritualistic side was that they were once the followers of Shamanism. This was their pagan religion before the arrival of Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam. The tactics were to search for a soul inside and heal a person from within. I find the practice to be interesting because of an element of some sort of time travel or mind travel in it. There are no such rituals anymore but the imagination of such a practice adds strange feeling to this site.

Many old times features were installed in the fort. There was a sundial placed on a wall somewhere in a room. It was the first time I saw any outdated technology installed in present structure. The time sounds so familiar and yet that clock was unidentifiable. The room also had sufficient supply of sunlight from windows because the sundial worked only with the movement of Sun.

Besides the sundial, the room had a hidden chamber from where some tunnel goes and ends outside the fort. It was designed for a possible escape in case they failed to defend the fort. During British conquest of Hunza, the tunnels and entry points were destroyed. No one knows where the hidden path ends today.

The Kitchen area had two important ancient features. One was the Aryan sign “Swastika” used in a large box or table, something to keep the pottery. The other was a statue of Shivelinga, ancient Hindu idol. The fact that both these ancient features were preserved in the Altit Fort suggests that the rulers of Hunza were always very tolerant towards other faiths and communities.

Somewhere in one of the rooms, there was a balcony with superb view of modern Karakorum Highway built on the lines of ancient Silk route and Hunza River. The guide told us that one of the main reasons for construction of this fort was to defend the ancient silk route. The Karakorum highway is, therefore, a loose reflection of that historic road which once connected all the world's major civilizations of the time.

One of the top most rooms in Altit fort came just before the access area to rooftop. It was built by the British after their conquest of Hunza in colonial times. They made a nice little corridor in middle of the final point before rooftop. It was from here that they could see the whole settlement at a single glance.

After visiting the British room and walking through the corridor, we eventually reached the top of Altit Fort. We found two very important features at the top, the watchtower and the mosque.

The watchtower of Altit is the oldest surviving monument of Hunza valley. It was built more than a thousand years ago. After independence, Pakistani authorities have installed a Marco Polo or Markhor sheep’s statue on its top. Another important historical site was Hunza's first mosque built on rooftop of the fort. This mosque must be at least four hundred years old.

Though the view was nice from top but the Altit Fort is not known for its natural beauty. In fact, it is known for its enormous history. The mountains were not enormously attractive like those around Baltit Fort and the area was largely uninhabited narrow side of the valley with no space for further construction but mostly Hunza river flows in between the mountains.

Arguably, the best possible view from Altit Fort must be from the corridor area near British room. From that point, the ancient Altit village can be seen. It gives a feeling that we truly are in the old times.

Altit Fort had a great military significance for the rulers of Hunza. It had a commanding view of the settlement and every movement of the locals. This could have been effective to crush the internal rebellion or any possible mutiny in the valley.

The other side of the fort could be used for safeguarding the ancient Silk Road. That road was a vital strategic asset of ancient times which passed right from this fort before reaching the China. Today, the modern Karakorum highway passes from the fort. It adds to the significance of the Altit. It suggests that this fort is willing to revive its lost glory, if only the times of swords and arrows returned.

There is a lake somewhere in the extreme north of Pakistan around the edges of Karakorum Mountains. It is about nine miles east of Karimabad or Baltit town, Hunza valley. The name of this lake is Attabad.  It was recently created as a result of severe landslide which affected the flow of Hunza River for nearly five months. Consequently, a large lake came to surface reaching the length of 15 miles and depth of nearly 350 feet. The nature has made a lake out of disaster. It was as if a severe storm ended with rain which began to fall slowly and made the atmosphere pleasant.

What nature has always been doing since millions of years, it was the destiny of Hunza valley that a lake should come into existence. Like giant quasars burn but then are broken apart, resulting into blasts and creation of new worlds, the same way some disaster resulted into the formation of Lake Attabad. Thus, this lake is the result of chaos before it turned into a calm.

The Divine Artist, the all Skillful, has painted the lake in perfect bluish turquoise color. I have never seen such a color dominating a vast area. The experience amplifies in a boat. I looked at water and sometimes it appeared as a giant mirror. Surrounding mountains and sky had manifold presence in the water and at sky. Attabad’s water was gorgeous. It makes the soul merge into its color. I still feel some part of me has now attached to this lake forever. Some of the memories associate with it will never go away from my mind till the end.

Even the boats in the lake were as colorful as their surrounding. Our boat had a name, “The F-16.” It was named after a fighter jet. But in reality, the name should have been “Snail” because it was moving too slowly. They had somehow fixed the auto rickshaw engine into a boat. In that slowest journey of my life, I took some time to observe the surroundings. Only now I wish that beautiful journey should never have ended. Only now I understand how important it is that life should slow down once for a while.

Attabad was not just a usual lake but some lake incidentally separated from the heavens. It was so otherworldly that it's hard to associate it with this world. The snowy peaks visible in its water, the majestic river flowing nearby, beautiful springs and mini waterfalls visible from a distance, all suggested that the lake was a manifestation of a beautiful dream. It was built for the artists and painters to experience what its like to be in a painting.

Like the beautiful Attabad Lake, this life also comes with different designs and colors. Like mountains appear in its water, we need to see our true reflection in the mirror. To gain the clarity, if we are unable to do so, we need to sail through this lake. Then we’ll know the reality of our existence. Like some severe disaster resulted into the formation of this lake, we all possess the power to turn our lives upside down. We need to find that lost potential within. And we can do it with the all capable Attabad Lake.

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. From all the external and internal levels, Hunza adds to the deepest experiences ever possible.

Its remote location farthest from the settled areas has given the valley a less chaotic outlook and more pleasant appeal. Often, 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 manage to spend the whole day without being disturbed. Hunza is the most beautiful and peaceful valley.

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

That is why this place is far better than Muree, Pakistan’s most famous hill station, because it maintains its real shape and color. People who visit here are likely to hold the memories of this place for a long time because they are not likely to experience anything similar anywhere else.

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 to time travel was visiting 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 Karakorum Highway built on the ancient Silk Road is visible from the windows and balconies of Altit Fort. It makes me feel like a time traveler, assuming that the contemporary road was once the world’s first major connectivity between different continents. 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 Karakorum 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.

People here make an effort to attract the tourists. Their efforts are mostly supplemented by the extremely scenic views which eventually captivate the souls of their visitors.

Surprisingly, these people are more educated than rest of the rural Pakistan's population. The literacy rate is 90 percent in Hunza. Considering the rate, its not even in the urban areas of the country. I think, they understand the importance of education. That is why they have high awareness of preserving their culture and historical sites on their own and with some support. Though the government of Pakistan hasn’t done much for them, many international countries and foundations have added to their development.

Having access to the international world, an open minded Ismaili community has paved way for gender equality and women empowerment in the Hunza valley. The level of tolerance in this society is much higher than the surrounding mountainous regions 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 schools.

There is a reason people visualize the paradise in mountainous valleys. It became apparent to me when I 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 ever experienced by eyes, when clouds begin to move slowly and come down to reach us, 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 this place resembles such an imagination of a paradise. No wonder, British termed it as the "Asian Paradise." It truly deserves the title.

Introduction To Hunza Valley

Stay At Hunza View Hotel, Karimabad

Hunza Bonfire Gathering And Cultural Dance

Altit Fort, Hunza Valley

Attabad Lake, Hunza Valley

Hunza Valley Impressions