Four days in Paradise-Chitral

Four days in Paradise

By Tarique Khan Javed,

President, Overseas Pakistani Investors Forum

Dated 1^st June 2012

I have seen lot of the World’s tourist attraction, yet I was not ready for the beauty of Upper Dir and Chitral.

Upper DIR a V shaped valley:

To attend the annual Spring Festival in Kalash Valley held every year on 15^th  and 16^th May, I traveled by road from Islamabad on the night of 13^th May.  When I woke from my slumber before down some where near Upper  Dir the sound of roaring water puzzled me. In the darkness I could not see the river passing below the road but the sound on water crashing against huge boulders and the bank at an amazing speed was fearful and pleasing at the same-time. As the first light shown the Paradise revealed it self! The high road was passing through a narrow “V” shape valley gradually rising. Number of snow capped Mountains became visible amid blast of greenery of alpine trees. Small step farms on both banks of the river spoke of the hard work and determination of inhabitants to eke a living out of narrow and sharply sliding mountain sides. Making small retaining walls to contain the water sliding from mountain tops and using that to water small farms, made me think how lucky farmer of the plain are compared to these hardy farmers of narrow valleys. The small bridges across the ferocious but not so broad river were witness to the courage and ingenuity of the mountain dwellers.

The freshness of air coming after touching the snow caps and alpine trees and its fragrance was enchanting and made me forget all my worries. As we drove towards the towering Lowari Mountains attaining height of 11,000 feet, the scenery kept becoming more impressive. By now large number of water falls were gushing on both side of the river. In number of places large body of snow had slipped from top to the road. People at some point were collecting the snow on trucks to be sold in the valley below.

Near the Lowari Tunnel we stopped for breakfast in a small restaurant located in small space created by a huge water fall. The scene beats explanation and description. The power of water and how it cuts most stubborn stone was well displayed here. A walk to the huge waterfall was a very pleasant exercise.

Lowari Tunnel:

Reaching the Lowari pass some 6,000 above sea level was an unforgettable experience. As we negotiated a turn the tunnel, through the huge snow capped mountain become visible. It looked like a hole in a solid wall. The 9 Km long Tunnel still under construction is being used. It lacks the exhaust system which is a must for a tunnel of this length. It is also not covered by a ceiling and drainage system to take care of water sipping through the cracks of a mountain covered by large body of snow all year round. The road surface is rough. The proper road can only be made after the drainage system is available. The sturdiness of Pakistanis is best displayed here. We have not only been able to cut this vital hole to link an isolated region with rest of Pakistan but using it a condition, that no other Nation would dare. The tunnel is being built by a Co called SUMBA, reportedly a Chinese Co.

We managed to get to the other side in just 20 mins, whereas it takes about 3 hours to pass over the 11,000 feet Lowari pass. In the center of the tunnel, I felt breathlessness but other passengers had no issue.

A view of snowcapped mountains and green broad valley on the other side of the tunnel was a dream come true. As we came out an “Upgraded Paradise” greeted us. The multiple water falls and streams fed by mountain caps of Lowari and related mountains cut the road at a number of spot which were not easy to pass.

DORASH Town:

From this point the road winded down towards ‘Dorash” the first town of 60km long Chitral valley.

Near Dorash the lowest point of Valley river coming down from South or the Lowari mountains and other rivers coming from North headed by 17,000 tall Trichumir mountain meet and turn westward towards Afghanistan through an narrow pass. This substantial water body later joins the KABUL River which enters Pakistan near Peshawar.  The water collected in Chitral is said to be the most important tributary of KABUL River, which is responsible for creation of the Peshawar valley the Bread basket of KP.

Dorash is a small town with a number of  tourist hotels and a bazaar. Clean shaved and well dressed inhabitants are very different from other mountain regions of Pakistan. Many prefer western dress and speak fluent URDU and Basic English. It took sometime for me to adjust to this pleasant surprise. The town seems to have reliable electricity, good drainage, schools run by Government and NGO, Health care system shared by government and NGO. People looked well of with good houses.

AYUN Town:

Twenty two KM from DORASH we came across the broadest part of the valley which housed the Town of AYUN. Here the river has created a large plain as it has been changing it course. The valley next to the river is intensely farmed. Above the valley stepped farms abound. Small retaining walls supply water for the farms up on the mountain slopes.

CHITRAL Town:

Some 20km further up lies the center of Chitral, the Town of Chitral. Smaller than AYUN, but still a broad valley, with hinterland of extended valley towards GHARAM CHASHMA and Afghanistan.

Chitral is dominated by massive and beautiful all year round snow capped 17,000 ft high Trichumir Mountain.

Chitral is the District head quarter and was capital of Chitral when a local ruler called Mahathir use to Rule and from whom the Britishers took control in 19^th century. It houses the palace of Mahathir, the Royal Mosque built in 1920, Polo Ground and number of impressive hotels like the Trichumir, Pamir etc. Located next to the river and facing the Trichumir they all offer great sights. The rooms in these prime hotels are priced between Rs. 1,500 and 3,500 and are worth it.

I reached on 14^th  at around 3pm and decided to rest and enjoy the view from my hotel. The diner at night comprising Chapli Kabab and Karahi was delicious.

Spring festival at Bombarate on 15^th and 16^th May.

On 15^th I joined hands with three hotel mates who were also heading to Kalash for the festival. After a tour of the Chitral town which to my surprise had ATMs and branches of 6 Banks, we hired a station wagon for BUMBARATE, the center of KALASH valley. We had to travel back to AYUN to go to Kalash.

Across the river and beyond the AYUN town lay the road to KALSH valley. The 30 KM road passing over large mountains is not paved and is basic.

The center of KALSH valley- village of  BOMBORATE  which quite is close to the Afghanistan, is where the main Spring festival is held every year. It attracts a large number of Pakistani and Foreign tourists. The valley has some 250 small hotels including PTDC’s.    

The Taliban threat:

Taliban had warned this ancient festival should not be celebrated this year or they will blow it up. Therefore a huge Military, FC and police presence confronted us as we turned towards AYUN. Check point after check point was quite annoying and gave a bad taste in our mouth. The looming danger however also made the adreline flow more freely. After the last check post were out details were registered and token fee of Rs 20 was charged we were finally heading towards BOMBARATE village were festival is held on 15^th and 16^th May. The road to the other side went ROMAN village were the festival is held on 14^th and 15^th May.

After many twist and turns and some amazing sights we reached a wood and stone Tower by the river which was a holy site for the KALASH people. The Tower it is believed prevents bad spirits travel further towards populated areas. As the populated villages came by we could see stepped farming on both side of River Kalash.

The festival on 15^th May:

We checked in Benazir Hotel located next to PTDC hotel. After lunch we walked for a hour to reach the festival site after passing through the village of Boni. Heavily surrounded by the Military and police the site on top of a small hill next to rolling rice farms was a welcome break from the general dullness of Pakistan. The shaded dancing hall was full of colorfully dressed Girls, women and elderly ladies wearing their black based long dress with three level of embroidery designs in contrasting colors of Red, Yellow, Green, Purple etc. A broad belt gives shape and contour to their medium sized and generally slim bodies. On their head all wear a round cap attached to a long gear which come down near waist. The rich and elderly women wear an additional expensive colorful cap over the regular cap. These caps are covered by sea shell of different design and are quite expensive. The overall impact of the dress is very elegant and exclusive. The dress has become the symbol of Kalash people and a Liberal, tolerant and Happy Pakistan.

The men wear normal shalwar but sport a expensive cap with feathers on top, many wear colourful broad belt across their shoulders and waist. 

At around 4 pm the traditional dancing gathered momentum as drum beat got stronger and stronger. Women formed their group and men their own. Putting one hand over the shoulder and on at the wrest of the adjourning dancer the Group moved sideways giving a special twist to their waist line which gives an exotic touch to the otherwise benign and simple dance. Men form the own semi circles and go round and round around the floor. Suddenly, however they started to bang upfront with the women circles, preceded by a deafening warning shout. A group of mostly elderly men continually sang some religious songs supported by two different types of drums. The women also sang a strange rhyme while dancing which had an intoxicating effect. The dancing went on till 6pm when Authorities stopped it.

The festival on 16^th May:

Next morning on 16^th May, from 7am on wards small children started beating their drums attracting small girls to come and dance in their localities. By 8.30 am a substantial crowd gathered at PTDC’s lawn and dancing started in earnest. Most foreign tourist were staying at PTDC so the media also arrived their and dancing in rather free format continued till 10am when processions from lower valleys started to arrive and this crowd also joined them to go to the main festival ground. Small processions from different villages kept joining the main processions till the reached the festival venue by 1pm. The priests at the venue prayed for a longtime. By 3pm a large number of dancers went in into full frenzy and a wild dancing session started. The energy on 16^th was much more than on previous day. Media men and foreign and local tourists were in such large numbers, those getting a seat become a problem. By 4.30pm mixed dancing started whereby girls and boys formed common semi circles and banged against each other with full forces amidst load cries. The merry making went on till 6pm when it was stopped by Authorities.     

The day after:

Exhausted by full days activities we slept early that day. It rained most of the night and thus the next morning was most beautiful with clouds embarrassing the green mountains al around. Light drizzle continued till after noon but it could not deter us from walking upto village of KARKUL were the main community hall and grave yard of Kalash is located. It was un uphill walk on slippery mud road so the walk was not easy. The grave yard contains besides Kalash remains of some Europeans who willed to be buried in Kalash manner. The difference being that dead body is kept in the Community hall till all his worldly possession is disposed or distributed. The casket is kept on the ground instead of buried. The Community hall is used for all ceremonies including a major indoor dance during winter. During the months of Dec till March no outdoor activity can take place and Kalash are confined to the houses during this period. No wonder they welcome the spring so passionately in May.

In the after noon we started back and before sun set we were out of the paradise with a heavy heart.

A request and prayer:

I wish and pray that this part of Pakistan is preserved as it is. The terrorist who have been kept away from this peaceful valley do not come and disturbed the fine balance taking advantage of the Lowari tunnel.

Nawaz Sharif had imposed a ban on “Tabligh” in the Area and the law is still in force. Despite that some indirect Tabligh is going on in the Area threaten the unique culture of the valley. There is a need to preserve this show case of religious and cultural diversity of Pakistan.