“I am going to Pakistan this summer!” Silence and shock. “Is it safe?”, this was the first and the most popular question. “Why Pakistan?”, usually, this was the second.

Is it safe to travel in Pakistan?

Travelling in the north-eastern part of Pakistan was a very calm and peaceful experience. No incidents happened, and no bad looks were noticed. It was one of those experiences when people look at you with big eyes, sparkling with joy to see some foreign guests arrive, welcome you, hug you, and the first sentence you hear is “Don’t listen to what your media say, it is very safe here.”

It was. As joyful and peaceful as this video with our most listened-to local song playing in the background.

Everywhere in the world and maybe a bit more in Pakistan, you have to be careful where you go. Get informed. Not by TV, but by professional travel advice websites and, most importantly, people who actually have been there recently.

All the tourists whom we met during this trip (Americans, French, Austrian mountain lovers)  shared the same opinion that Western tourism recommendation pages are too generic, not updated and do not support their recommendations by detailed analyses of regions, where exactly and what is happening. We found the UK government website to be the most detailed and professional in this matter (and still it sounded much too scary in contrast to what we experienced).

There are some dangerous areas in Pakistan, but usually, they are military zones with restricted access to foreigners. For example, in the following photo Adriano (a Pakistani version of him) is standing on the bridge in front of Chiporsun Valley. It was the furthest spot we could reach. Getting closer to the Afghanistan border, the whole area was closed off and protected by military forces.

We travelled in trouble-free northern areas, followed the recommendation to avoid big cities and crowds, used private local drivers to move between towns. Actually, more because of limited vacation time and eagerness to see more things in a week, than for security reasons. Little mountain villages and valleys which we passed seemed the most peaceful places on earth.

If you plan to go to Pakistan yourself and are interested in more details about safety there, please read Pakistan detailed travel guide. 

 

10 reasons why to go to Pakistan

 1.Breathtaking beauty of Himalayas

I am neither Shakespeare nor James Hilton, who wrote his famous novel “Lost Horizon” inspired by the valleys of the Himalayas in Pakistan. I lack the words to describe that beauty.

Lower Hunza Valley

Saiful Maluk Lake, Khagan Valley

Lower Hunza Valley

 In Passu

If there was a starting point of how the idea to visit Pakistan grew, then it was seeded somewhere among the pages of the “Lost Horizon” book. This story is about Shangri-la, a magical hidden place in a mountain valley, isolated from the rest of the world. It is a work of fiction, but I can confirm that heavenly valleys are very real in Pakistan.

In Chippurson valley

For a mountain lover, Pakistan is a paradise. The height, the landscape take your breath away.  You cannot find anything like that elsewhere. Average Himalaya peaks in this zone are higher than the single highest Mont Blanc in Europe, and what is considered high here are some hundred peaks of 6000–7000 metres and above. Five of the highest mountains (above 8000m) in the world, including K2, are in Pakistan.

I often found myself surrounded by a wall of mountains, not able to see their peaks through the clouds. In the evenings we watched dusk as the sun went down in Pakistan. We saw minute by minute how clouds showed up from the other side of the mountain and like soft cream slowly but steadily rolled down towards us. Quite a dramatic view caused by the change of temperatures in the evening.

So it is a gorgeous place, and it is safe. How better can it be? Well, it can.

2. Silence. Get away from massive tourism zones

Imagine that all these views are just for you. There are no tourists around. In spite of my respect and love for Europeans, Americans, Chinese and other travellers, it is damn good to get away from all that noise. There are no hip-hop bus tours, souvenir shops, nobody is grabbing you by the arm offering stuff you do not need. Peace. Silence. Just you, mountains, local people, and nature. Om…

In Chiporsun Valley together with our travel friend, Austrian alpinist Heinz.

3.Adventure. Adrenaline. Challenge

For most of us just to visit Pakistan is an adventure in itself. However, there is a lot more to experience if you are up for more challenging adventures.

Driving on Chipurson Valley roads

If you have any heart problems, don’t watch this video.

Yes, we could have fallen down, and no, we did not. In such situations, I tended to calm myself by thinking how many people passed this road every day before us and they still reached a respectful age so it could not be too bad.

There are about six villages in Chiporsun Valley and a large military zone protecting the Pakistan-Afghanistan border at the end of the valley. The only way for these people to move around is to use this road. It is not only motorbikes and passenger cars, but also massive military jeeps that cross this road every day. Pakistanis also travel on motorcycles, scooters, bicycles.

We had an excellent local driver who knew every angle of this road (his relatives lived in a village in the valley). Every time he had to turn, he used a car horn to warn others in front in case there was somebody beyond the corner.

He told us that the highest risk is not falling down (as he knew the road so well) or a piece of the mountain collapsing together with you, it is actually rocks falling from above.

What is not seen in the video is a 1km steep rock-covered mountain above our heads. Rocks don’t fall daily, but especially during rainy days, it is dangerous. We were probably a bit safer in the car than locals walking or driving scooters without any helmets.

In the end, sometimes you just have to trust local people, and believe that everything will go well. In the end, it was a fantastic valley to see and an exciting adventure to pass such roads.

Passu bridge in Pakistan

Adriano crossed it to the end and back. He just said that it was too risky to cross such a shaky bridge while holding a phone in his hand. If the phone had fallen, nobody would see these amazing pictures, so I thank him for his wisdom.

I did not cross Passu bridge. Why? Not because of the bridge but the challenge to reach it. It brings me to another adventure on the list.

4. Mountain expeditions, hiking, climbing

Pakistan is made for them. There are mountains and rocks for everybody from an advanced- level long expedition to K2 (the second highest peak in the world at 8607 metres) to many less challenging climbing options.

Glacier reached in Passu

After two days of “beginner” level hiking/climbing, all my muscles were trembling. So when we had to cross a very steep rock to reach the famous Passu bridge, I felt that I did not have enough power and concentration. Take a look at the photo below. It looks scary, right? Here I am on one side of the rock and Adriano already on the other side after crossing this dangerous curve. The bridge is that thin line seen behind him.

In Pakistan, there are countless numbers of average-height mountains (up to 6000 metres). Many of them have never been explored by anybody. If you will be the first to climb an unexplored mountain, you can name it after you.

5. People

Pakistani people. This is not No.5 but No.1 reason you would be amazed and in love with Pakistan. I cannot be far wrong calling them the most hospitable people in the world. It is about who they are and also their approach to tourism. They are hungry for foreign tourists. The tourism industry used to be big but so many families and whole villages lost their incomes after foreigners stopped coming. Local people are eager to have tourists return.

The Pakistanis were very kind to us. They left us alone when we wanted and were always there for a cup of tea when we had a minute. That sincere interest and willingness to help, to protect, to take care of us, melted my heart. Wherever we went, people invited us for a cup of tea. I remember once we were just sitting on some bench enjoying the evening mountain lights when a man we hadn’t talked to before came with two cups of tea for us. Just like that.

Pakistani love foreign tourists. Many times I felt that local people around us made it a personal mission to make sure that we were ok. They would take you by the hand, fill you up with food and lead you to the furthest valleys and highest mountains to show how beautiful (and safe) their country is.

Somewhere on the way. Everybody wants to chat with tourists.

“Please come for a cup of tea”, the most popular words after “Hello”. People invited us on the roads, even giving us their addresses and how to get there, men offered tea in shops, even teachers made a break at a local school. A lot of tea was drunk during that week in Pakistan. I have not felt so very welcome in every home anywhere else in the world.

In Chiporsun Valley we met Alam Jan Dario who is a bottomless source of useful and interesting information about the valley. He leads mountain expeditions, provides information for professional guide books like Lonely Planet. Alam owns a small homestead in the last village of the valley. It’s really nice and charming; if we had had more time, we would have been glad to stay there for a week. He also claims he once walked back to Chiporsun Valley from Khorog, Tajikistan.

For those who are interested in more details, we share his contacts in this article.

This is Fairen, our friend and driver on extreme roads. I will share later a video of the roads we passed with him in Chiporsun Valley. If you are planning to go to Pakistan, we would be happy to share a contact. Here we are sitting in a mountain village house. The main characteristic of these houses – they are full of colourful carpets on the floor, on the walls, everywhere. People go inside only in bare feet.

In the novel “Lost Horizon”, people were described as almost immortal in Shangri-la. Maybe it is not just inspired by Pakistan, and not a work of fiction after all?

Pakistanis have a great sense of humour. How much we laughed on a funny “half-bed” bus crossing the China – Pakistan border. Pakistanis said that this bus was a punishment for going to China. Then many other jokes followed about their neighbouring countries, themselves, terrorists. Give them a topic, even a serious one and they will make fun of it. Such a positive, relaxed nation.

Northern Pakistanis have very different looks from southern Pakistanis. Because of the mix of different ethnicities, mostly Tajik, Kyrgyz, Afghan and Hunza Valley people, they seem to be much taller and even have some European traits. Hunza Valley people claim descent from soldiers of Alexander the Great.

In the south of Gilgit, there are many Afghan people. They tend to have very dark hair but sky- blue eyes. Maybe we were blinded by scary terrorist faces, but these people have very beautiful facial features.

Dress code

We had a lot of fun dressing like locals. It is not mandatory. We just enjoyed it.

Many local men wear simple trousers and jackets these days, but Adriano enjoyed his new suit a lot. Those cotton long shirts/dresses with baggy trousers were perfect for hot days. Comfortable solution. Also because they’re loose, you can eat a lot wearing them.

Adriano before this trip decided to grow a beard. “I want to look like a Pakistani while in Pakistan,” he said. When we arrived, Pakistanis joked that my fiancé looked like a terrorist. In Shia areas (north of Gilgit), beards are out of fashion. Since the time when the Taliban were strong in the country and were fomenting sectarian attacks against the Shia in northern areas, people with long beards and Afghan-looking (like Adriano during this trip) have earned a bad reputation there. But the last serious sectarian attack in the north was in August 2012, and since then the situation has calmed down.

By the way, since I mentioned the Taliban: please don’t make the common error of confusing them with Pankhtu or Afghan people in general. Afghans living in Pakistan call themselves Pankhtu. They live in Chilas and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The Taliban is a political movement (!), not an ethnic group. Pankhtu people are super friendly and nice. It’s a very interesting experience to talk with them, as it’s the only way we have to get in contact with Afghan-like culture, since currently Afghanistan is too dangerous to visit.

How does it feel for the female traveller in Pakistan?

In short, perfect. Of course, I had Adriano by my side so cannot compare.

Sometimes I felt a bit lonely being the only woman. In smaller villages, it was more mixed, but in bigger cities, and on a bus crossing the China – Pakistan border, I was the only woman around. However, I never received unpleasant looks or unwelcome attention, actually, the opposite, men were very polite.

It was not very usual, but we saw some shops run by women. Our favourite little restaurant in Hunza Valley was owned by women too. If I remember correctly, she said that she was divorced and ran that restaurant to maintain her family and support her kids.

To sum up, just relax. Dress modestly, local people are tolerant and very kind.

Women fashion

Me wearing Pakistan style

Local women dress very differently. It seemed that women from big cities wear less traditional clothing. We met some Pakistani tourists from the big cities and the women did not cover their hair, and wore colourful dresses plus trousers. It looked closer to the Indian style.

While in the north of Pakistan, closer to Afghanistan, traditions are more strict. All women wore headscarves in these areas. However, I noticed that many of them did not cover their hair while they were alone or only with me,  but as soon as Adriano appeared, they immediately put the scarf on.

On TV, women wore Western-style clothes, some covering their hair, others not.

When I asked local people how I should dress, they laughed. “Whatever is comfortable for you,” they said. Scarfs are not mandatory for foreign women, but you would find so many of them in the shops, that you would want to try at least some. People are tolerant of foreigners but let’s not take advantage, this is an Islamic country, and people dress modestly.

6. Food

In a restaurant with a gorgeous terrace view

I’ve just noticed that I do not have many food pictures from Pakistan. Do you know why? Because there was no time, it was too good.

Time after time when Adriano asks me what I really, really want for dinner today, I say “that Pakistani sort of pizza with yoghurt sauce.” It was actually called Chap Shuro, typical food of Hunza Valley. I loved Pakistani food. It is very similar to Indian cuisine but less flavoured, less spicy, just perfect. Here we have rice with dried fruits of various species, and Chap Shuro pizza with a little spicy chicken filling inside. It is not an art on a plate but a fantastic taste.

Our favourite two table restaurant (one table was outside) with a chef cooking fantastic dishes just in front of us. There were more regular-looking big restaurants, but we loved this place. This lady was a Master. I miss her so much, and I wish I knew a place in Europe where Pakistanis cook traditional Hunza Valley food.

Guests in the restaurant

During our trip in Chiporsun Valley, we were invited for a cup of tea with teachers at the local school. Adriano, without asking, put several spoons of “sugar” in his. It was salt! It was there not to play a prank on somebody, but this is how locals in the mountains drink tea. With milk and salt. Salt tea helps to prevent altitude sickness. It is also used in Tibet, they even put butter in it.

In all other places in Pakistan, we found tea served sweet, with sugar and milk.

Many shops sell dried fruits and nuts. In some villages in the mountains, we found all the sunny roofs covered with apricots drying in the sun.

Tip! If you are a coffee addict, bring your own coffee.

Still not convinced?

Another very positive thing about Pakistan is how easy it was to communicate. It was such a relief after a fortnight in China.

7. Ease of communication and travel

Pakistanis speak fluent English. They study at school in English from a young age. Unfortunately, it is one of those countries where their language is not valued highly enough to make it written, and from colonial times the opinion has held that educated people speak English.

Communication is not a problem. Nor logistics.  There are plenty of hotels and public transport for those who have more time and private drivers for those who have less and prefer more comfort. Some locations offer a greater variety of hotels, others less, but you can find pretty much everything.

Tourism is an important industry, which decreased drastically when Western tourists stopped coming. Hotels are there, but they are half empty. Roads, cars, infrastructure, everything is set, but not that much used any more.

Local transport. Note a kid on the top.

 8.Low costs

In terms of an average European income, Pakistan is a cheap place. The budget can vary significantly according to which mode of transport and hotels you choose. This time we were on “a luxury” trip using mostly private drivers. There is public transport, of course. Beautiful and individually decorated, every car looked different. But we speeded up on the road because spending one week in Pakistan as we did was a very short time.

Beautiful hotel on top of the mountain

9.Opening your mind

It is worth travelling for so many reasons – to open your mind, to learn by experience, to stay fit, awake, inspired, happy. Importantly, to see the world yourself. A trip to Pakistan might be a startling experience, making us realise what a cocoon we live in, exposed to just one-sided Western media. You come here, people surround you with all their kindness and love. Not just one, nor two, but everywhere you go.

Pakistan is a fantastic travel destination. Don’t let yourself be imprisoned by media misconceptions and incorrect stereotypes.

10.You can travel to Pakistan on your own

We did it, you can do it too. To help you to arrange your own trip, we share all the information which we have collected before and during our trip. Please read Pakistan detailed travel guide.

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Photo album