Gilgit: Day trip to Ghizer Valley

To my delight, we have instant hot water this morning, which I suppose we should expect from a Serena Hotel (they are an upmarket chain of hotels, some of which we have stayed in when visiting Tanzania in the past).

This morning the weather is a lot clearer than it was last night, with view from our balcony revealing the 7,788 metre high glacier-clad Domani peak.

Breakfast

David in the dining room

Again I choose the Pakistani option, of channa masala (spicy chick peas), and aloo bhuja (a rather dull potato dish).

Pakistani breakfast

I also, rather naughtily, indulge in some French toast with syrup afterwards.

French toast - naughty but nice

David starts with cereal, and follows on with fried egg, chicken sausage and baked beans.

An Englishman's breakfast

Kargah Buddha

This huge carving on the side of a bare cliff, dates from the 7th century (Buddhists inhabited this area until the 15th century).

Despite being a popular excursion spot from Gilgit, there is no dedicated parking area, and we are expected to leave the car on the side of the already very narrow roads. Asif suggests we stop on the opposite side of the little valley, just before the guarded gate, to send up the drone.

The narrow - and very rough - road leading to the site

Where we stop

Having given us permission to fly the drone, the guard then suggests we might want to drive right up to the bottom of the cliff. Asif is amazed, as he has never before been permitted to cross the bridge by car. Yet again we are treated like incredibly privileged VIPs.

The little red guard's hut and the bridge leading to the enclosure

We are parked almost right underneath the Buddha - you can see the carving in the top right hand corner of the picture above

When I did my research on the internet before we left home, I was concerned about the number of steps leading up to the viewing platform by the Buddha, so I am really grateful that I am able to send the drone up instead of climbing all those stairs.

Images from the internet

It’s in fact not until I get home and look closely at my photographs, that I realise that the staircase is no longer there. In the photo below, you can see the support pillars still there, and I have indicated where the steps once were.

While Asif and Haider take breakfast, David enjoys a chai and I send up the drone again for a closer look.

The boys enjoying their breakfast

David with his chai

The enclosure which includes a small café

A closer look at the Buddha - it is believed that the holes either side and at the top once supported a canopy to protect the carving from the elements

According to local legend, after the Buddhists left the area in the 15th century, locals believed that this carving was that of a child-devouring witch known as Yatshini. A respected sufi climbed up to the statue and pinned the she-devil to the cliff to stop the killing, and promised that as long as he was alive everyone would be safe from Yatshini’s terrorising antics, and provided the sufi was buried at the base of the cliff after his death, there would be no more evil and no more children eaten.

Ghizer Valley

This valley was one of the areas badly affected by the flash floods and subsequent landslides a few weeks ago. In several places there are huge clearing-up efforts underway, which, despite the light traffic, causes a long wait at road works. Chaos ensues as both sides of the traffic is released at the same time, trying to squeeze through a small gap.

Online news report from last month

Waiting for the road to be opened

The disorderliness of two directions trying to fit into the small gap in the works at the same time

Note the goat lying peacefully on top of the van

A little later on we see a very narrow miss, where a few rocks, some reasonably large, come tumbling down, missing a pedestrian by mere inches. It may only have been a tiny landslide, but it certainly made him jump sky high and ‘run for his life’. I am not quick enough to capture the actual incident, but this is the aftermath.

Painted Trucks

We see many of these ornately decorated trucks this morning, and several of them stop when they realise we are trying to take photos of them. The drivers are very proud of their moving artwork, and love to show them off. Quite rightly so.

We see a few trucks that have passengers sitting on the front bumper, such as these children hitching a ride to school.

It is probably safer than it initially looks, with a fairly wide ‘seat’ with a guard rail around it to stop them sliding off.

The children in this area have a much more European look than the ones we have seen so far on this trip, with paler skin and some even sporting fair hair and blue eyes.

The narrow winding road is cut into the cliff-side, and follows the beautiful Ghizer river, which is interspersed with picturesque bridges.

Look at that road!

You can just about see the road on the left here

The river meanders through such lovely scenery

One of the many interesting bridges along the way

My People Project

At the start of this trip, I shared with Asif that I had an idea that I want to photograph some of the many characterful men in this area. Asif is fully onboard, and when we see someone along the side of the road, he will ask “will this one do?”, and if so, he will stop and talk to the person, as he does with this chap.

The local women, however, are not generally happy to be photographed. I do snap the occasional covert drive-by-shooting picture, but I am happy to respect their reluctance and concentrate on the men.

An old lady walking alongside the road

Walnuts

A first for us: seeing how walnuts look when first picked from the tree, before being peeled and roasted. This area is renowned for their walnut production.

Lunch

We stop at the Green Hotel in the village of Gahkuch for our midday meal.

We find a shady spot in their large garden

On the long travel days Asif will pre-order food for us to save time, but today is quite an easy and chilled day, so we are given menus to choose from.

David's chicken sandwiches

My beef manto (dumplings)

Grapes
We are amazed to see vines that have grown so large they look like trees, and are full of grapes. As soon as I ask Asif about them, a waiter goes off and picks a large bunch for us to enjoy.

They are quite small, and very sweet, but unfortunately full of very annoying pips, something we are not used to from home.

At a construction site along the road, we stop to photograph one of the workers, again for my project.

We also stop to take pictures of the river and surrounding scenery.

While we are stopped, Asif shows Haider how to film his ‘famous’ slow-motion movies for TikTok.

"This is what you do..."

Asif pretends to run along the side of the river

Haider seems to enjoy it!

Drone

I also want to try and record some movies, using my drone. I am generally a stills-only droneographer, but I have been practising with some special effect automated actions on the drone before I left home, and would love to try them from the middle of a bridge over the river.

We find a suitable bridge with no overhanging branches or anything else that can interfere with the movements of the drone.

Parking up, we walk onto the centre of the bridge.

It feels a little wobbly, especially when other pedestrians or motorbikes pass us, but I am assured that it is perfectly safe.

View along the valley from the drone

This action is called 'The Dronie'

Whereas this one, which circles the subject, is known as a 'Helix'.

Some local kids hang around to watch

It’s time to make our way back to Gilgit, taking more photos as we go, of course.

I love the different colours of the mountains

Another bridge

A butcher's shop miles from anywhere else

Another painted truck

It looks like there have been numerous landslides from this mountain over the years

Gilgit

As we enter the confines of the city, we spot a horse rider carrying a polo stick, and stop to ask if he is on his way to a match. He is not, the game is not until tomorrow (when we will be moving on to the next destination). Pity. I do hope we get the chance to see a polo match at some stage!

Dinner

The only option for dinner around here is the hotel, but neither of us are that hungry, so we order one dish to share: Apricot Chicken. It is described in the menu as “Dry apricot and apricot nut stuffed chicken breast served with white rice apricot spicy sauce and butter vegetables”

As would be expected from a Serena hotel, the dish is very nice, with tender meat, some welcome texture from the nuts, and al dente vegetables. The ‘spicy’ sauce is realistically less than a 1 on the Grete Scale of 1-10 of Spiciness. We should have anticipated that, and explained that we are more used to spices than the average Western palate.

Thank you to Undiscovered Destinations and their local team for arranging this incredible trip to Northern Pakistan.