PAKİSTAN - CHİTRAL AND THE KALASH PEOPLE - SO WELL HİDDEN AND SO HARD TO REACH

After having decided to discover the whole of the Indian subcontinent and having visited Bangladesh and Pakistan from Karachi to İslamabad in 2015, I made up my mind to continue my Pakistani journey towards the North and especially visit the Kalash people. So in May 2016 , accompanied by two of my  friends, I set sail again for a new adventure.  All friends and acquaintances who didn't come started telling me again how crazy I was to go to such a dangerous place(!). It is so hard to convince people that Pakistan is not a no-go area mainly due to the information disseminated by Western media which depicts the country as a hotbed of Islamic extremism in the form of suicide bombings, jihadist beheading  or ransom kidnappings. I have never felt unsafe in Pakistan and discovered an amazing country full of friendly and hospitable people. So time to discover another people, the Kalash. 

This is easier said than done. Three ladies, plus our guide / friend set out first for the mountains of the North (will be the subject of another post yet to be written). From Gılgit we drove in a 4X4 towards the Afghan border to reach Chitral and the Kalash people. But what a drive. 

We leave the valley and go towards the mountains. And just as we reach the mountains the first setback is seen. The mountain has come down ( a very frequent occurrence in those parts) and we have to wait for the road to be re-opened. Unbelievably, Pakistanis are well organized to repair such damages to roads very quickly. 

WE CONTİNUE ALONG THE GILGİT RİVER , AMONG ROCKS ON WHAT İS SAİD TO BE A ROAD. 

YOU SEE SUCH CROWDED VEHİCLES VERY OFTEN İN PAKİSTAN. 

A GOOD STRİP OF ROAD

AS WE ARE GOİNG TOWARDS ''DANGEROUS'' CHİTRAL, WE ARE PROTECTED OF COURSE. 

THE ROAD İS LİTERALLY CARVED İN THE ROCKS. 

PEOPLE ON THE ROAD - WE ARE APPROACHİNG GUPİS WHERE
WE WİLL SPEND THE NİGHT. 

RİDERS GOİNG TO A POLO MATCH

ON THE ROAD AGAİN

RİVER ON THE RİGHT AND ROAD ON THE LEFT- THE RİVER İS EASİER TO SEE THAN THE ROAD. 

BUT THE SCENERY İS BEAUTİFUL UNDER THE SETTİNG SUN. WE ARE İN MASTUJ WHERE WE WİLL SPEND ANOTHER  NİGHT. 

WE LOOK AT THE SCENERY, THEY LOOK AT US. 

                                      

NEXT MORNİNG WE ARE ON THE ROAD AGAİN. 

AS WE ARE APPROACHİNG SHANDUR PASS, THE ROUTE BECOMES A ROAD NOT WORTHY OF THE NAME.

WE EVEN HAVE TO CROSS RİVERS.

ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU SEE A GUY İN THE MİDDLE OF NOWHERE.
WHERE DİD HE COME FROM ? WHERE İS HE GOİNG ? UNKNOWN. 

BUT THE MOUNTAİNS ARE REALLY CAPTİVATİNG. 

IT IS GOOD I AM NOT THE DRİVER HERE. 

WE ARE CLİMBİNG NOW. 

İN SOME PLACES THERE ARE POLİCE CHECKPOİNTS AND YOU HAVE TO REGİSTER. FOR WHAT I DO NOT KNOW.
BUT I THİNK THEY ARE CONTROLLİNG İF TOURİSTS HAVE  REACHED THEİR DESTİNATİON SAFELY VİA RADİO MESSAGES. 

A SCHOOL HAS JUST COME OUT İN A VİLLAGE

THEY ARE ALL VERY CLEAN AND PRESENTABLE, EVEN İN THE MİDDLE OF THOSE MOUNTAİNS. 

FİRST SNOW VERY NEAR. WE ARE APPROACHİNG SHANDUR PASS.

Shandur Pass is a high mountain pass connecting Gılgit and Chitral at an elevation of 3700m. The top is flat and that is why it is sometimes called the ''Roof of the World'' (as is Tibet). It can only be crossed between late April and early November. But the scenery is out of this world and we are lucky to stop there , at the very top, for our pick-nick lunch. 

SO PEACEFUL AND QUİET.

YAKS ARE GRAZİNG 

LUNCH TİME

BYE BYE SHANDUR PASS - I HAD ONE OF MY BEST LUNCHES HERE. 

WE HAVE STARTED OUR DESCENT FROM THE PASS ON VERY NİCE (!) ROADS AGAİN. 

NOTHİNG BETTER THAN A TOYOTA LAND CRUİSER FOR SUCH JOURNEYS. HERE İS OURS. 

AND WE REACH GREEN VALLEYS AMONG THE MOUNTAİNS. 

WHO SAYS GİRLS DO NOT GO TO SCHOOL. THEY DO. 

COVERED BUT EDUCATED. 

 WE REACH CHİTRAL. MAİN MARKET STREET. 

CHİTRAL SEEN FROM THE OPPOSİTE SİDE OF CHİTRAL RİVER. 

The first thing we have to do is go to the police station to register. That is a must and everyone has to go in person, otherwise you cannot continue the journey. That is also a must because we are quite near the Afghan border here and the police want to keep track of us tourists for security reasons. Afghanistan surrounds the Chitral valley from North, South and West. 

We then proceed to watch a polo match. Polo is great here and people love it. They watch the polo match. I watch them. 

The next morning we discover Chitral - the main town of the Chitral district, serving as its capital. İt is situated at the foot of Trich Mir (7.726m), the highest peak of the Hindu Kush chain. The Chitral district is counted among the highest in the world, sweeping from 1.094 m in the valley to the Trich Mir summit, and packing over 40 peaks more than 6.100m high. İt is the largest district in the Khyber-Pashtun Khwa province of Pakistan and the country's northernmost district. 
The entire region that now forms the Chitral district was an independent monarchical state until 1895 when the British negotiated a treaty under which the district became a semi-autonomous princely state within the Indian Empire, ruled by its hereditary ruler, the Mehtar. Chitral retained this status even after its accession to Pakistan in 1947, only being made an administrative district of Pakistan in 1969. 

BEYOND THE CİTY İS THE İMPOSİNG TRİCH MİR OF THE HİNDU KUSH CHAİN. 

A little visit of Chitral before heading for the shopping street which interests us more because there are people there. We visit the former Palace of the Prince of Chitral, the Mehtar, and the main mosque. 

And now to the market and the people of Chitral. There is everything you want in this market. 

THE PHARMACY

THE BOOKSTORE

THE SHOE SHİNER

THE SHOE REPAİRER

DİFFİCULT TO ASCERTAİN WHAT HE PRİMARİLY SELLS. 

THE FABRİC SELLER WİTH SOME SHOPPİNG AND SOME RESTİNG İN FRONT OF THE SHOP

MORE FABRİC SELLERS. 

THE CARPET SELLER

THE TAİLOR

THE ARMS SELLER - DO YOU NEED A KALASHNİKOV?

THE LEGUMES AND FRUİT SELLER. 

THE RESTAURANT - WANT A SHİSH KEBAB ?

WE ARE İN CHİTRAL SO WE NEED PROTECTİON. HERE HE İS. 

YOU CAN ALSO BUY UNPROCESSED STONES. HOW ABOUT SOME LAPİS ?

DO THEY LOOK LİKE PAKİSTANİ EYES ?

THE ROSE İN THE HEADGEAR SUİTS HİM WELL. 

We then drive to Ayun where we will be very near the Kalash villages . The scenery while going to Ayun is beautiful and very pastoral, especially when coming down the mountains towards the valley. . 

In Ayun, we check in Maqsood Guest House , owned by Mr. Maqsood himself and which is like paradise on earth. The rooms are great and the garden is so beautiful. 

And finally we are going to visit the Kalash people. The 3.000 or so remaining Kalash people live in 3 valleys close to Ayun , Rumbur, Bumburet and Birir, at a height of 1900 to 2200 m. Today we are going to Bumburet, only 20 km away. I thought it would be a quick and easy trip. I was wrong again. We have to cross a river and the only bridge on it has been destroyed by water last night. So we cross on foot. Leave our car on one side. Take another car to reach Bumburet.

Who are the Kalash ? The Kalash are a primitive pagan tribe, the last followers of a pre-islamic religion which was practised across much of the Hindu Kush mountains. Their faith is polytheist, has no canonical texts, is defined instead by  nature and the ceremonies, rites, taboos and festivals they observe. Which results in being called by some as  ''Kafir-Kalash'' and their land as Kafiristhan.

For centuries, this light-skinned/ blue-eyed people, outwardly  totally different from the darker-skinned Pakistanis, have claimed to be the long-lost descendants of Alexander the Great who invaded this region in the 4th century BC. Supposedly, when Alexander's armies retreated, some of its soldiers stayed and settled in this region and are thus the ancestors of the Kalash. Nothing is proven of course. İt should be remembered though that the Kalash produce wine much like the Greeks of Antiquity, and this in a Muslim country that forbids alcohol. 

The Kalash women wear a black gown . Their picturesque headgear is made of woolen black material decked out with cowrie shells and buttons. This is why they are sometimes referred to as ''Wearers of the Black Robe. ''
Men have adopted the Pakistani shalwar kameez (so not photogenic at all among the women) , while children wear small versions of adult clothing after the age of four. 

In Pakistan,except for the big cities, it is rare to see women in busy, crowded places. Sometimes, it is rare to see women at all. However, this is not the case with the Kalash. Kalash women do not limit their movement in public. So when you enter the Kalash valleys , you enter a world dominated by women. The Kalash do not in general separate males and females or frown on contact between the sexes. 
Girls are usually married at an early age but it is the girl who chooses her husband and the husband pays the family a dowry. Marriage by elopement is rather frequent and is considered a custom among  the Kalash. If a woman wants to change husbands, she will write a letter to her prospective groom offering herself in marriage and informing him how much her current husband paid for her. This is because the new husband must pay double if he wants her. İf the current husband paid one cow for her, the prospective husband must pay two cows to the original husband. 
This practice results in allegations of ''immorality'' in a Muslim region and  attracts lots of Pakistani men to the valleys especially during festivals. They hope to be chosen by a Kalash woman for a night or two but they are usually deceived. During festivals the number of women in the streets is very few, since they prefer to stay at home to avoid the ''hopeful'' Pakistani man. 

Kalash women by the river and at the fountain - laundry time. 

The Kalash live in wooden houses built in steps above one another, the balcony of one being the roof of the one below. The streets in the middle of the houses are almost non-existent or very narrow. The interior is very poor. But the overall result is interesting. 

And here is everyday life at home, as far as my zoom could catch. 

Children voices - singing . What is happening? When we enter the temple (totally empty space) we see that the children are not singing songs but  memorizing  the multiplication table with chanting. So cute.  

İT İS NOT THE BOYS WHO ATTRACT YOU BUT THE GİRLS.

Children are everywhere in the Kalash villages. Unfortunately, the little girls are so beautifully dressed that you tend to literally forget the boys. It is  a shame really but one that cannot be avoided. 

ON THE WAY TO SCHOOL

THAT İS HOW THE HEAD İS SHAVED BEFORE THE HAİR GROWS LONG
AND THE BRAİDS ARE MADE. 

The next day, we depart for Rumbur Valley. İt is in the same direction as the Bumburet valley so we have to cross the same bridge again. But we will go left instead of right. 
The bridge has been repaired (!) so our car can cross it but the road to Rumbur is even worse than the road to Bumburet. 

YOU SEE, İT İS REPAİRED SOMEHOW. 

İT İS EİTHER THE ROCK OR THE RİVER. 

THAT İS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU MEET A CAR COMİNG FROM THE OPPOSİTE DİRECTİON. 

ROAD REPAİR TEAM AT YOUR SERVİCE. THEY MUST BE VERY BUSY PEOPLE. 

It seems Rumbur Valley was devastated by the river a few years back when it brought down the whole mountain around it. The boulders are said to have destroyed several houses and bridges . They still could not be totally cleared. 

And finally I saw technology in Rumbur - a Kalash woman with a cell phone. I was wondering if they had been protected from cell phones as well. They were not. 

Here is where we saw what resembles most  a Kalash man in traditional clothes, with a feather on his headgear. 

In Rumbur there is a museum and in it there are remains and reproductions of Kalash temples and wooden idols, most of which were destroyed when the Kalash were brutally conquered by Muslim Afghans in the 19th century. It seems they are very good at wood carving. 

Another night in Ayun, and very early in the morning we set back for our return to Islamabad. But this time we have to cross through the Lowari Pass at 3.100m. After a while, we leave the rocky mountains. The landscape changes completely and becomes much greener. 

 The climb to the Lowari Pass is one of the most interesting climbs in the world. İt consists of forty-seven  180 degrees turns on a road full of trucks. I repeat that I would not like to be a driver in Northern Pakistan and I congratulate Cemal who took us along this very difficult itinerary. 
When you start on the curves, you have the impression of ascending towards the sky in an airplane. The view below is scary and mouth opening at the same time. You'd better not have a car sickness problem here. 

 

 

Taking the curves is not easy at all since they are extremely steep. 

WE ARE THE TOP OF LOWARY PASS NOW . IT İS NOTHİNG LİKE SHANDUR PASS. 

 After a little bit more swimming, we reach back normal roads (not highways mind you) and finish our journey among greenery and nice village scenes. 

Another trip is thus finished, another people met. I believe the Kalash are on of the most remarkable cultures on the planet, an oasis of paganism and color in a sea of Islam. And I also believe it is their isolation and the difficulty of reaching them that has protected them from oblivion. Their uniqueness makes the trip worthwhile despite its length and difficulty. 

I loved all of it.