Cycling in Pakistan
- Thread starter ghazi52
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DESERT FIGHTER
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https://www.google.com/search?client=opera&hs=VYo&biw=1326&bih=665&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=E9CzW-2ILqrAlAb-nJGoCQ&q=panjpeer+rocks&oq=panjp+rocks&gs_l=img.1.0.0i7i30k1l10.95574.97555.0.99124.5.5.0.0.0.0.541.1203.2-1j1j0j1.3.0....0...1c.1.64.img..2.3.1200...0.0.zbzaxb7MsZgAwesome, these pictures are amazing. Where in Pakistan is this please? Also you guys sure must have a lot of disposable cash to invest in Bianchi Xr3's.
Panjpeer Rocks - Kotli Sattian - Kahuta
Similiar thing in Sindh Meher Jabbal:
Bado Jabal:
Gorakh Hill Station - Only place where it snows in Sindh
Takht-e-Suleiman - Throne of Solomon - Balochistan
Karakul - Balochistan
ghazi52
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Samar Khan
BOOM!
Here's with my new beauty GIANT 'Stance', ready to get some dirt.
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Crossing through the beautiful dense forest, 'Ushu' which is 8km away from Kalam & 123 km away from Mingora, KP.
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It is accessible through a non metalled road from Kalam by jeeps only.
ghazi52
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Cycling on the Roof of Pakistan (part-4)
ATTABAD TO PASSU
SUNDAY JUNE 23, 2013, 144 KM (90 MILES)
Our last night's camp at Attabad Lake.
The first view of the lake was some sort of a feast of viewing as we were compelled to stop, view and remain perplexed for some time of its natural beauty to watch. We stopped at the top portion of Attabad Lake and enjoyed the satiating beauty and vastness of the Lake. All the cargo trucks unloaded at Attabad Lake. Cargoes, luggage are then loaded and transferred to the boats that are situated on the opposite side of the lake. This cargo process is repeated on the other side as the cargo transport heads towards Sost dry port.
Stopover at Attabad lake
We took a boat ferry ride to cross Attabad lake.
The Attabad Lake was formed on January 4th, 2010. The lake was formed due to a massive landslide at Attabad village. The landslide killed twenty people and blocked the flow of the Hunza River for five months. The landslide caused irreparable loss to the area, submerged cultivated lands, eroded great portions of the Karakoram Highway, and squeezed the tourist inflow. The entire population of Domaki Tribe was displaced from their village (Shishkat).
Soon, it was our turn to be called by the boatman who is scheduled to ferry passengers. I still cannot remember the last time I was on a boat ride? But, as far as I could recall, it had already been a long time ago passed. This boat ride is was going to be a new adventure and experience in the Attabad Lake which is 21 meters in length and 100 meters in Depth. Soon we reach the Sost Dry Port. The atmosphere at the port was amazing as everyone was busy and noisy seemingly shouting at each other’s ears aloud.
The water of the lake was very cold but muddy at its bank. The fascinating journey started with a cold gale of the wind as if freezing and blowing the huge Rocky Mountains above of our heads. The color of the lake became greenish blue as we moved into the lake. At this instance, we feel totally enchanted as if we were at Astola Island. Astola Island is the island of Seven Hills (“Haft Talar”), Pakistan’s largest offshore Island whose highest point is 246 ft. (75 meters) above sea level.
The island consists of a large tilted plateau and a series of seven small hillocks with deep chasms and crevices which are several feet wide. There are several natural caves and coves on the island. The south face, wherein the island slopes off gradually as the north face is clifflike. The isolated location of the island had helped maintained several endemic forms of life like the endangered green turtle, Hawksbill Turtle, endemic reptiles, Sooty Gull Breeding Colony but soon ceased because of the presence of rodents/rats. The vegetation of Astola Island is sparse consisting only of shrubs (“Prosopis Juliflora”-the largest shrubs) and large bushes . There’s no fresh water and the vegetation depends on the occasional rainfall and soil moisture for survival. But, what is different in Astola is it being the home of coral reefs. Astola’s topography pales in comparison with Attabad that sooner we corrected ourselves with our daydreaming that we are instead in Gojal, Hunza. The enjoyable journey lasted for an hour then we reached Gulmit Village. The boat only stopped at one place at “Shiskat Village”.
Passed Attabad Lake on a ferry and reached Gulmit.
Local kids in Gulmit village.
Passu Cathedrals seen from Gulmit village.
We were determined to bike again 12:15 PM. But, the penetrating heat of the sun was right above our heads and soon we had to find some place for a rest and for passing 2-3 hours in Gulmit Village. The word Gulmit is formed with two words, Gul (Flower) and Mit (garden) and together it meant Flower Garden. After riding a couple of mins, we reached and stopped in a café at Gulmit Village. We had lunch in front of Passu Cones and/or Passu Cathedrals in “Stone Age Cafe”. We rested and had a midday afternoon nap in the garden of the café under the apricot trees.
Our hosts in Gulmit village.
We left Gulmit Village around 4 PM were headed towards Passu. After Gulmit Village, is the Village of Ghulkin. This village is situated beside the Ghulkin Glacier. The road normally is wet in this part as there are a lot of water sources coming from the glacier and they all fall on the road and then mix with Hunza River. The wet road patch is about 3 km. in distance. Soon after we were head on to the Ghulkin Village with the huge Ghulkin Glacier situated near to the road. The glacier's ice water mix with mud and stones in the process of its movement downstream in the mountain canals that in the end, it is difficult to ascertain at first sight that these indeed are the natural movement of water derivative and/or coming from the glaciers.
Passing from Ghulkin village
Water coming from Ghulkin Glacier, Ghulkin Village
Ghulkin Glacier has two main huge tributaries ( Nalla’s). The water seems not portable as it doesn’t look crystal clean. But, for the locals, this is water they drink daily. We stopped near one of the Ghulkin Nalla/sources and had a cup of tea. The area of water from the Hunza River increases in size and area as it flows and traverses to Gulmit extending to Hussani Village and Passu.
At Hussani and Passu Villages the water flows smoothly and calmly. Hussani is a small but beautiful village. In here we could find one of the most notorious dangerous bridge. This bridge was damaged in one of the recent floods as the locals informed us. Unfortunately, we couldn’t see or examine why this bridge was tagged as one of the dangerous bridges in the world.
Lucky enough to capture local drinking water, Ghulkin
Near Hussani village
Passu Cathedrals as seen from Hussani village
There is a tremendous tedious ascent from Hussani towards Passu Village. From our bicycle trekking, this seems to be the longest ascent we are to be confronted after Attabad. The difficult road ascents forced us to stop after each 500 meter to 700-meter bike trek distance to be able to reach the top of the mountain roadway. AS we reached the top, we managed to have a hard long look at the Passu Glacier at the seemingly elevated pinnacle portion of the highway. From this point, the road starts to descend. We could not quantify in words our mixed emotions being traumatized by the ascending and descend of the road engineering as we are forced to flex our understanding and physical endurance to this type of mountain roads.
Welcome to Passu.
KKH and Passu glacier before entering Passu village.
Upon reaching Passu Valley, a funny incident happened when we passed by one of the locals wandering along the road and we decided to stop and talk with him. The sudden stop of our bike brakes seems to frighten the old man as he motioned that our sudden stop had taken his breath away. We apologized for his distraction but our good intention was to engage him in a pleasant conversation. We gathered, that the old man was silently walking along the highway to his mind thanking the Chinese Engineers having done an outstanding job installing protectors and gutters on both sides of the road that suddenly we appeared within his midst distracting his mindset. Finally, the old man gains confidence with our friendship. We left him with a memorable smile painted on his face.
Passu Cathedrals / Passu Cones seen from Passu
We reached Passu at 6:30 PM. Now we could feel the cold wind blowing coming from Passu glacier. We stopped at “Glacier Breeze Hotel” for the dinner. A typical Hunza dinner was extraordinarily delicious. In particular, it was an opportune time to be able to sample regional Hunzai Cuisine prepared from the fresh local produce. The enchanting moments of sunset in Passu, the cold breeze from Passu Glacier, the sunset drama over the Passu Cones and the compelling panoramic beauty view of Passu Village in its entirety are unforgettable encounters.
Delicious local food presented in dinner by Glacier Breeze restaurant
We meet a lot of interesting people in Passu. Some trekkers from Punjab, with whom we become familiar quickly. They were going to Shimshal Valley for trekking. “Mr. Zaffar” along with his friends was a friendly group which appreciated the efforts we were putting by riding a bicycle around Pakistan. “You have taken an initiative to do something different and you have done your best, and look you have gained huge experience of your life. Go on and make the rest possible. Good Luck”, Mr. Zaffar commented on what we’re doing on Karakoram Highway. A fascinating day came blissfully to an end. Attabad Lake is a sure miss and the Gulmit Village where we have captured and experienced unforgettable memories.
www.destinationpak.com
ATTABAD TO PASSU
SUNDAY JUNE 23, 2013, 144 KM (90 MILES)
Our last night's camp at Attabad Lake.
The first view of the lake was some sort of a feast of viewing as we were compelled to stop, view and remain perplexed for some time of its natural beauty to watch. We stopped at the top portion of Attabad Lake and enjoyed the satiating beauty and vastness of the Lake. All the cargo trucks unloaded at Attabad Lake. Cargoes, luggage are then loaded and transferred to the boats that are situated on the opposite side of the lake. This cargo process is repeated on the other side as the cargo transport heads towards Sost dry port.
Stopover at Attabad lake
We took a boat ferry ride to cross Attabad lake.
The Attabad Lake was formed on January 4th, 2010. The lake was formed due to a massive landslide at Attabad village. The landslide killed twenty people and blocked the flow of the Hunza River for five months. The landslide caused irreparable loss to the area, submerged cultivated lands, eroded great portions of the Karakoram Highway, and squeezed the tourist inflow. The entire population of Domaki Tribe was displaced from their village (Shishkat).
Soon, it was our turn to be called by the boatman who is scheduled to ferry passengers. I still cannot remember the last time I was on a boat ride? But, as far as I could recall, it had already been a long time ago passed. This boat ride is was going to be a new adventure and experience in the Attabad Lake which is 21 meters in length and 100 meters in Depth. Soon we reach the Sost Dry Port. The atmosphere at the port was amazing as everyone was busy and noisy seemingly shouting at each other’s ears aloud.
The water of the lake was very cold but muddy at its bank. The fascinating journey started with a cold gale of the wind as if freezing and blowing the huge Rocky Mountains above of our heads. The color of the lake became greenish blue as we moved into the lake. At this instance, we feel totally enchanted as if we were at Astola Island. Astola Island is the island of Seven Hills (“Haft Talar”), Pakistan’s largest offshore Island whose highest point is 246 ft. (75 meters) above sea level.
The island consists of a large tilted plateau and a series of seven small hillocks with deep chasms and crevices which are several feet wide. There are several natural caves and coves on the island. The south face, wherein the island slopes off gradually as the north face is clifflike. The isolated location of the island had helped maintained several endemic forms of life like the endangered green turtle, Hawksbill Turtle, endemic reptiles, Sooty Gull Breeding Colony but soon ceased because of the presence of rodents/rats. The vegetation of Astola Island is sparse consisting only of shrubs (“Prosopis Juliflora”-the largest shrubs) and large bushes . There’s no fresh water and the vegetation depends on the occasional rainfall and soil moisture for survival. But, what is different in Astola is it being the home of coral reefs. Astola’s topography pales in comparison with Attabad that sooner we corrected ourselves with our daydreaming that we are instead in Gojal, Hunza. The enjoyable journey lasted for an hour then we reached Gulmit Village. The boat only stopped at one place at “Shiskat Village”.
Passed Attabad Lake on a ferry and reached Gulmit.
Local kids in Gulmit village.
Passu Cathedrals seen from Gulmit village.
We were determined to bike again 12:15 PM. But, the penetrating heat of the sun was right above our heads and soon we had to find some place for a rest and for passing 2-3 hours in Gulmit Village. The word Gulmit is formed with two words, Gul (Flower) and Mit (garden) and together it meant Flower Garden. After riding a couple of mins, we reached and stopped in a café at Gulmit Village. We had lunch in front of Passu Cones and/or Passu Cathedrals in “Stone Age Cafe”. We rested and had a midday afternoon nap in the garden of the café under the apricot trees.
Our hosts in Gulmit village.
We left Gulmit Village around 4 PM were headed towards Passu. After Gulmit Village, is the Village of Ghulkin. This village is situated beside the Ghulkin Glacier. The road normally is wet in this part as there are a lot of water sources coming from the glacier and they all fall on the road and then mix with Hunza River. The wet road patch is about 3 km. in distance. Soon after we were head on to the Ghulkin Village with the huge Ghulkin Glacier situated near to the road. The glacier's ice water mix with mud and stones in the process of its movement downstream in the mountain canals that in the end, it is difficult to ascertain at first sight that these indeed are the natural movement of water derivative and/or coming from the glaciers.
Passing from Ghulkin village
Water coming from Ghulkin Glacier, Ghulkin Village
Ghulkin Glacier has two main huge tributaries ( Nalla’s). The water seems not portable as it doesn’t look crystal clean. But, for the locals, this is water they drink daily. We stopped near one of the Ghulkin Nalla/sources and had a cup of tea. The area of water from the Hunza River increases in size and area as it flows and traverses to Gulmit extending to Hussani Village and Passu.
At Hussani and Passu Villages the water flows smoothly and calmly. Hussani is a small but beautiful village. In here we could find one of the most notorious dangerous bridge. This bridge was damaged in one of the recent floods as the locals informed us. Unfortunately, we couldn’t see or examine why this bridge was tagged as one of the dangerous bridges in the world.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-..._o_2016-07-07%252012%253A42%253A30.999371.jpg
Lucky enough to capture local drinking water, Ghulkin
Near Hussani village
Passu Cathedrals as seen from Hussani village
There is a tremendous tedious ascent from Hussani towards Passu Village. From our bicycle trekking, this seems to be the longest ascent we are to be confronted after Attabad. The difficult road ascents forced us to stop after each 500 meter to 700-meter bike trek distance to be able to reach the top of the mountain roadway. AS we reached the top, we managed to have a hard long look at the Passu Glacier at the seemingly elevated pinnacle portion of the highway. From this point, the road starts to descend. We could not quantify in words our mixed emotions being traumatized by the ascending and descend of the road engineering as we are forced to flex our understanding and physical endurance to this type of mountain roads.
Welcome to Passu.
KKH and Passu glacier before entering Passu village.
Upon reaching Passu Valley, a funny incident happened when we passed by one of the locals wandering along the road and we decided to stop and talk with him. The sudden stop of our bike brakes seems to frighten the old man as he motioned that our sudden stop had taken his breath away. We apologized for his distraction but our good intention was to engage him in a pleasant conversation. We gathered, that the old man was silently walking along the highway to his mind thanking the Chinese Engineers having done an outstanding job installing protectors and gutters on both sides of the road that suddenly we appeared within his midst distracting his mindset. Finally, the old man gains confidence with our friendship. We left him with a memorable smile painted on his face.
Passu Cathedrals / Passu Cones seen from Passu
We reached Passu at 6:30 PM. Now we could feel the cold wind blowing coming from Passu glacier. We stopped at “Glacier Breeze Hotel” for the dinner. A typical Hunza dinner was extraordinarily delicious. In particular, it was an opportune time to be able to sample regional Hunzai Cuisine prepared from the fresh local produce. The enchanting moments of sunset in Passu, the cold breeze from Passu Glacier, the sunset drama over the Passu Cones and the compelling panoramic beauty view of Passu Village in its entirety are unforgettable encounters.
Delicious local food presented in dinner by Glacier Breeze restaurant
We meet a lot of interesting people in Passu. Some trekkers from Punjab, with whom we become familiar quickly. They were going to Shimshal Valley for trekking. “Mr. Zaffar” along with his friends was a friendly group which appreciated the efforts we were putting by riding a bicycle around Pakistan. “You have taken an initiative to do something different and you have done your best, and look you have gained huge experience of your life. Go on and make the rest possible. Good Luck”, Mr. Zaffar commented on what we’re doing on Karakoram Highway. A fascinating day came blissfully to an end. Attabad Lake is a sure miss and the Gulmit Village where we have captured and experienced unforgettable memories.
Cycling on the Roof of Pakistan (part-4)
Now in Attabad, we woke up early and started packing. We were served with a delightful breakfast by “Mr. Rasul Din” before leaving the camp. We reached at Attabad Lake in the span of one (1) hour. By this time, there was a huge landslide to cross before reaching Attabad Lake. We went up the huge...
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