Advertisement
Published: October 11th 2006
Edit Blog Post
August 22
After some fresh apples for breaki its time to pack and settle my bill. Start hitch hiking towards Karimabad and am soon picked up by a friendly finn, who has rented one of the classic jeeps that are famous in this region. The drive is awesome with stunning views and having the entire back of the jeep to myself, truly Hitchhiking is the fastest and most comfortable transportation in the region. After reaching Karimabad its on to have a great meal at the large hotel (I truly don't remember the name) it is the best meal I've had the entire trip and cost just under my entire expenditure for the last 4 days in Passu. The rest of the day is spent checking my internet (can't remember the last time I used a dial up connection) and met some interesting people at my hotel the Hunza Inn with a very personable owner/manager. Rumors of Hunza water lead myself and an Austrian on a quest though soon discover its simbly too late for the prohabition runners to supply us with anything.
August 23
Had a pakistani Omelet for breaki at the Del de Hunza Cafe, a must
stop for any traveler to karimabad. The walnut cake is amazing though sometimes power outages can effect the availability. Start heading to Altair valley though soon discover that we were shown the wrong path by some locals. Chris ends up turning back as its simply too difficult to continue with all his camera gear and I decide to head over the rockface rather than taking the goat path with the 200-300 meter drop. Eventually I reach an old stone tower which I later find out later to be a tribute to queen victoria. Along this stone tower was an old canal that seemed to be heading in the right direction to Altair valley though it was quite decrepid and had no clear maintenance path. This canal continues though only gets worse as the ledge narrows and I'm forced to scramble through the canal at points and remove my backpack just to be able to continue in parts that resemble more of a cave than anything else. Eventually reaching a rockslide i'm able to clamber down into a small clearing were a curious baby cow wonders what i'm doing. A herder with a wicked looking axe shows me the proper footpath
that continues up into the valley and after making my way past a camp and almost reaching the top of the waterfall near the end I'm turned back again by another rock/landslide that has destroyed the old path. From this valley its also possible to see Lady Finger very clearly. Stopping at the camp for a quick tea I discover it truly is a small world as I once again run into the two Germans from Kashgar and sit having some chicken and rice. After journeying back to Karimabad (using the proper and easier path) I get lost once again in the great cannal systems that water the majority of this mountain village. Finally recieving some instructions from a helpfull passerbye I return to have dinner at Hidden Treasure/Pleasures and also get ahold of some Hunza water. This goes horribly to waste though as after tasting it its reputation is seriously injured.
August 24
After another excellent breaki at Del de Hunza (cheese omelette this time) I head back to Passu with Chris the Austrian as I've realized I left all my toiletries at Shispar View hotel. After catching a ride to Gulmit with a plumbing supply truck
it was then another short walk before being picked up by a zam-zam cola supply truck. Tasting some of its product and acidently spilling several bottles on the road side we arrive at Shispar View hotel. For lunch its the Glacier view hotel with a James Bond villain being our traitor and having the entire restaurant to ourselves. The food though was unimpressive. Hitching back by myself was more difficult, though eventually got a ride from some chinese engineers and a japanese woman who had rented a jeep for the day.
August 25
After another breaki at Del de hunza its off to visit the Altit Fort which is very beutifull and culturally rich. During the tour I'm also informed that many have died traversing the canal that I first took to Altair valley. After the tour headed to the post office were two very proud officials took care of my postcards and ended eating once again at the Hidden treasures restuarant.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.106s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 10; qc: 67; dbt: 0.0641s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb