Welcome back my dear gentle reader, in the previous part you got to know about my arrival in Gilgit where I celebrated birthday of ShahRukh Khan, thanks to Gilgit Serena Hotel, who presented me with an adorable cake. and list of some adventures while transferring to Altit. In this final part I would be writing about my travels of Attabad, Khunjerab, Soust, and Hunza.
I started for Khunjerab National Park at 11:15am, again a beautiful bright morning welcoming my adventure, along the way I stopped at a Sacred Rock, the driver told me it’s some sign posts for the soldiers of Altit’s Raja. I don’t get any other detail.
My next stop was Attabad Lake, which was on an alarming state of drying up, and a crowd of constructions. For reaching the lake first I crossed Pakistan’s longest tunnel, around 3.5 kilometers in length, covered in a time of 15 minutes, moreover there was a sequence of tunnels coming over and over. It’s a very good initiative by Pakistan’s government as before its construction people have had to travel by climbing the mountains. In a meanwhile I exchanged few dialogues with the driver as I wanted to know about the local people, which he told me and for travelers I would say it’s a genuine advice from my side, to wear modest clothes, as it offends the local community and their cultures, further as we respect the women of our society we should to their women as well. These people though are simple, but they too are one of us, our Pakistani brothers and sisters.
After Attabad, I reached Sost by crossing Hussaini Bridge, the dangerous of the world, Beriut Lake known for fluffy duckling and the celebrated Passu Cones, let me tell you my dear reader whenever I saw Passu Cones, I felt an energy, a powerful semi-human soul calling me from there. Maybe I just over imagine!
The car was going on 80 kilometers, slowing down on turns, where I found an undiscovered water channel and I couldn’t stop myself and asked driver to park the car then ran into the river, oh it was beyond words…the silvery clear water, the cool fresh breeze, the scenic view, with the colors of Autumn, like a fairytale.
It was a minute’s drive after that I reached the check point of Khunjerab National Park, which is completely safe area guarded by Pakistan Army. Khunjerab National Park known for majestic landscapes, Snow Leopards, Ibex, Black Bears and wild birds, this park is a natural reserve where hunting is prohibited, hence it’s a safe haven for the wild. For going to the top, where its Pak China Boarder, known as Khunjerab Pass, further it required 2 hours, but they pass in minutes, since you would all be consumed in sightseeing. I reached there around 03:10 pm, where I took some photos, watched the wild Yaks, a distant sight of a Bear, and some green and black uniformed soldiers guarding the boarders in extreme cold, so that we can sleep in peace in our cozy houses.
At 03:30 pm I turned the car backward and rolling down rewinding the views, it took 4 hours to reach back to the hotel, and it was complete dark that is not a recommended time on road.
Hotel manager Mr. Abbas was kind enough to come all the way from office to the parking area to assist me back to the lobby, where warm kettle of tea and aromatic tasty samosas were waiting for me.
For the next day, I was compelling to cancel all my plans for sightseeing as I was caught by high fever, hence the day spent by watching the sheep from the balcony. Next day, after checking out from Serena Altit Residence, I traveled to Karimabad, another small community village known for the Baltit Fort on the hill top, where I checked in to Hunza Serena Hotel, the newly constructed luxurious hotel, of which later of I will write a full review.
There I met my friend Mr. Faisal, the Cluster Manager of Serena’s North, who was so kind to upgrade my room to the Kanwal Suite, the best thing about my suite was its view from the balcony, of the Karakorum, Lady Finger, and some of the gigantic snow-capped mountains whose name I have forgotten, beside in their cradle of these the UNESCO awarded Baltit Fort stands, moreover the sight of locals working in fields with the sound of some chubby buffalos down the hills.
Hunza was my last spot, but the unforgettable one, because it is the destination where I tried Nashasta, a desert of which my grandfather told me tales of his childhood, made by the Executive Chief Mr. Shahbaz.
In end I would say, People are wonderful, if You are wonderful, and it takes People to make someone’s journey the Memorable.