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Ever heard of BAGROT – the beautiful high mountain refuge? A small and remote valley located close to HUNZA in the high mountain area of the Karakoram in Northern Pakistan.
How to get there? From Europe via direct BA flights to Islamabad twice a week from London and Manchester or via PIA flight once a week from Frankfurt. Once you reach Islamabad a PIA fokker takes you further to Gilgit, the centre town of the Northern Areas. In 45 minutes you come along Nanga Parbat and hundreds of peaks of the Himalayan range, along the Karakorum Highway, the modern version of the ancient silk road to China before you land in Gilgit with its ever growing bazars.
Gilgit offers hotels of all scales, like the new RIVERIA on River View Road (call Mr Changezi by phone/fax: 0092-572-4185/3695) and HUNZA TOURIST HOUSE on Babar Road (call Mr Jamal by phone: 0092-572-2338) right near the airport, which we both personally recommend. From Gilgit bazar daily busses, minibusses, and jeeps leave to adjacent areas. The city is an ideal starting point for sightseeing and trecking tours, e.g. to BAGROT which is located in a 17 km’s distance or 2 hours jeep drive from the centre.
MOHAMMAD BAIG`S BOOKSTALL on 468 Aga Khan Road offers a variety of books and maps on the area, and many insider information by its well-known owner Mr Ikram Baig. He also organizes tours and rents jeeps and cars in his ADVENTURE CENTER PAKISTAN in the same location. Contact Mr Ikram for any information needed (phone/fax: 0092-572-2409/3695; e-mail: ikram@acp-glt.sdnp.undp.org)
Writers, scientists, and travellers admire the whole region of the Northern Areas which is full of the highest peaks like K2, NANGA PARBAT, and RAKAPOSHI - in many places only an arm length away. Beautiful landscapes, local traditions and customs invite you to stay. It is told that James Hilton’s 1930s novel ‚Lost Horizon‘, the classic dream of a Shangri La, was inspired by this area. Since the beginning of this century many researchers from various countries and disciplines visited this region for its history, geography, language variety, and cultural uniqueness.
BAGROT’s main valley with its length of 25 km makes it an ideal place for a day tour from Gilgit. After a 2 hours jeep drive you can even walk to summer settlements and pastures along the Barchi and Hinarchi glaciers which make BAGROT a dead end street for any vehicles.
A steep river in narrow valley with terraced fields of all sizes, beautiful meadows and orchards irrigated by a sophisticated system of water channels which are fed by the melting water of the various glaciers and snow from the mountains.
You come along 6 villages before you reach the mouth of BAGROT Valley. Here, right under a beautiful waterfall in a magnificient place you find a small, new hotel and restaurant: Bagrote Sarai Hotel. Mr Raza, owner, manager, and cook, will be proud to serve you mountain tea and local food, and if you like he tells you all he knows about the natural beauty and the history of this area.
Just around the corner after a 30 minutes walk along Barchi glacier the scenic landscape of the summer valley with ist temporary settlements, even more peaks and a broad river bed reveals itself for you. Turn around and you will have an impressing view on RAKAPOSHI peak. Its range marks the natural boundary between the valleys of NAGIR and BAGROT.
Beside its breathtaking scenery, BAGROT offers a self-help school project to visit. Experience traditional culture and change, rural education at our private girls high school on the linkroad to Datuchi. Founded in 1991 as a small neighbourhood school and meanwhile having become an institution for girls education in BAGROT. Contact Headmaster Ahmad Ali at Government Boys High School Datuchi on the main road, you can`t miss it.
For further information please contact:
Monika Schneid (Hamburg/Germany) and Hans-Joachim Jupke (Cologne/Germany) at:
Monika.Schneid@Raphaels-Werk.de
Hamburg/Cologne, 17 August 1998
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