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Guide aHitchhiker’s 1o me ROOF or tue World From here a steep track winds up to Karimabad. Kunza's main centre, the bulld- Ings rise up In steps to Baill Fort, behind which “yawns the dark mouth of a narrow gorge hemmed In by precipices of Immense height - an awtul chasm In the mountains, at the head of which are glaciers of gilttering green Ice and stupendous snowy peaks” - (E.F. Knight “Where Thre Empires Meet"). There Is the ever-present threat of ava- lanches, so common that the sound of thelr distant rumblings is an everyday occurrence referred to by the locals as Ihe ‘Himalayan Orchestra’. Ashor distance aiongthe mountainside, near the village of imanabad, the even older Altit Fort stands atop a cllff overlooking a narrow defile. Alongside the rlverbank a collection of huge boulders known as the Halderkeish Sfones or the ‘Sacred Rocks of Hunza’ ate covered In carvings which span the ages, Though mosily of the Ibex or markhor (goat-like animals whose fotemic signifl- cance Inthe Pamirs dates back to Paleolithic limes), there are varlous other carvings of The Hunza Valley Local Hunza scholars asser! fi is derived tribal motifs as well as examples of ancient Photo by Peter Krygsman from the orlginal Indo-European language Chinese and Kharoshi! script. spoken by nomadic invaders from the west Today the Hunza people are friendly and At the edge of an immense Ice whose origins are lost Inthe mists of antiquity. hospitable, a far cry from the flerce Kanjutal irlbesmen who plundered the roods sheet stretching almost a hundred THE Sitk ROAD between Kashmir and Turkestan and talded miles across Northern Pakistan’s The Hunza Valley has been a route for Kirg encampments In the valleys of the Karakorum Mountains lies the commerce and migration between the tn- Upper Yorkand - even threatening the stabli- tty of the British Empire. Hunza region. dian Subcontinent and Central Asia since Predominantly Ishmael Musilms, follow- Extremely rugged terrain lying atthe neolithic times, H became pa ctine inpes ers of his Highness the Aga Khan, they are junction of the Hindu Kush and the —!ant_ access route, the fabled Silk Road. Dat- more enterprising and less conservative Ihan Ing from the second century, pelroglyphe al Himalayas, |! Is deeply sunk within thelr Shina-speaking Sunni neighbours and Halderkelst mark the frontier between the many Hunzakuts have ned: Mifcdassiol ranges which are no less than 15,000 — Kushan empire of the Tarim Basin and the fee! in altitude and average well over = Gandharvan civilization of the Indus Valley. pusirecrss (rice be. Geprtodig ans 20,000 feet. Lolertraveliers through the area (such as The Hunza gorge plunges down tromthe _the fifth century Chinese monk Fa Hsien and = eee otnatnas eed eee southern Hanks of ihe Pamir Plateau of Cen- Marco Polo In the thirteen century) recorded The Hunza peo 7 , a owned for thel wal Asia and broadens Into a fertlie valley the hazards of thelr Journey through this re- lo of wal zs ihey atl nbute f tras St 8,000 feel above sea level. Melting glaciers gion and the flerce independence of lis AN is 3 1 cd a ne tO ee a surround the valley, enclosed withinthe spur _ Inhabitants. Sexip thelt glacial\wicter sap sae mountalneer Eric Shipton referred lo them as of the Murfagh Ala Range on the northeast As late as 1852, the Hunza Kanjulls ex- “ta L regeieenll the Sher- and MI Rakaposh! to the southwest. pelled Gulab Singh (Maharaja of Jammu i otha me ne pene an oven ‘ol Glaciers mass |n.an almost uninterrupted and conqueror of Kashmir) from Giigil. DRE Nan. serles from the Hunza Valley tothe base of gi- Development underway Includes village edit unions, dicraft ii - pesca ee which iow ypund K2 (be seu H UNZA TODA Y ing Bosnekities inifiohed ‘by the United iatiaen pelt riletd ie wena poe Today Hunza Is again finding its place on Natlons, the Aga Khan Foundation and the the Old Silk Road. Twenty years in the making, Pakistan! Government. metres higher than Everest), formingthe most tha varnlarnim hinhwew terumreas anmna at - a Local Hunza scholars assert i! s derived from the orlginal Indo-European language spoken by nomadic invaders from the west whose origins are lost Inthe mists of antiquity. THE SILK ROAD At the edge of an immense Ice sheet stretching almost a hundred miles across Northern Pakistan’s Karakorum Mountains lies the Hunza region. Extremely rugged terrain lying atthe junction of the Hindu Kush and the Himalayas, |! Is deeply sunk within ranges which are no less than 15,000 feet In allitude and average well over 20,000 feet. The Hunza gorge plunges down trom the southern flanks of ihe Pamir Plateau of Cen- wal Asia and broadens Into a fertlie valley 8,000 feel above sea level. Melting glaciers surround Ihe valley, enclosed within the spur of the Murfagh Ala Range on the northeast and MI Rakapeshi to the southwest. Glaciers mass In an almost uninterrupted serles [rom the Hunza Valley tothe base of gi- ganlic peaks which stand around K2 (which tates! safeliiie measuring techniques show as the tallest mountain tm the world, a few metres higher than Everes!), formingthe most extensive glacial system outside sub-polar regions and flowing through the greatest mountains In the world. For lis sheer grandeur and breathtaking Panoramas, few places can match the sce- nic beauty of the Hunza Valley. The Hunza Valley has been a route for commerce and migration between the In- dian Subcontinent and Central Asia since neolithic times. It became part of the impor fant acces: je, the fabled Silk Road. Dal- Ing from the second century, pelroglyphe al Halderkelst mark the frontier between the Kushan empire of the Tarim Basin and the Gandharvan civilization of the Indus Valley. Latertravellers through the area (such as the fifth century Chinese monk Fa Halen and Marco Polo In the thirteen century) recorded the hazards of their Journey through [his re- gion and the flerce independence of lis Inhabitants. As late as 1852, the Hunza Kanjulle ex- pelled Gulab Singh (Maharaja of Jammu and conqueror of Kashmir) trom Gilgil. Hunza TODAY Today Hunza Is again finding Its place on the Old Silk Road. Twenty years in the making, the Karakorum highway traverses some of the most difficult terrain lmaginable. tI foliows the Indus River through Kohistan and Diamir to Gilgit and then the Hunza Valley over the Kunjarab Pass and the Pamir. \! continues through the Muztagh AfaRange on the Sino- Soviet border and on to Kashgar at the west- ern edge of the Gobi. The road trom Gilgif leaves the indus (whose true headwaters rise further to the east In Balfistan) and follows the Hunza River to the small town of Atiabad, siiuated at the base of Mi. Rakaposhi (25,550'), an Imposing giant whose norihem face |s a sheer 19,000' drop of plummeting snow and Ice. A few miles up the valley at Ganesh a simple monument commemorates over three hundred Pakistani Army Engineers who died during the construction of the higway. Up the valley at Passu, the Batura Glacler (over 35 miles long) looms menacingly close fo the highway, which continues on to Soost (an Impromptu truck stop-cum-Immigration post). From here the Hunza valley narrows to a steep rocky glaciated gorge, along which the road climbs up to the windswept Kunjerab Pass (16,188'), gateway to the Pamir Plateau - the ‘Roof of the World’ and border between Pakistan and the Peopies Republic of China. The Silk Road Journey Is once more open to Western travellers at certain times of the year, an experlence dating back to (at least) Paleolithic times, and one which can never be forgotten, co Ine roag Tom Gig" leaves Ine inaus een, yee yerye, wieny No attinity has yet been proven between (whose true headwaters rise further to the the road climbs up to the windswept Burushuski (the Hunza language) and any st In Baffistan) and follows the Hunza River Kunjerab Pass (16,188 ), gateway to the other known language. It has been loosely © the small town of Atiabad, sijuated at the Pamir Plateau - the ‘Roof of the World’ and grouped by lingulsts with the so-called Dar- base of Mi. Rakaposhi (25,550'), an Imposing border between Pakistan and the Peoples dic languages such as Khowar and Shina, _—_glant whose norlhem face |s a sheer 19,000' Republic of China. archalc tongues; both contain basic dfop of plummeting snow and Ice. A few the'sik Road joumey Is once more opan elements of Burushuskl, buf Burushuski has ts Milles up the valley at Ganesh a simple to Wester travellers at certain times ofthe own vocabulary (except for obvious loan monument commemorates over three year, an experlence dating back to (at least) words) and inflectional system which are =‘ hundred Pakistan! Army Engineers who died Paleolithic times, and one which can never unique. during the construction of ihe higway be forgotten. co 19 Nexus New Timec Two by Peter Krygsman (Himalayan Correspondent) ROOF OF THE WorRLD ANCIENT LANGUAGE Nexus New Times Two