We slept at ease in NAWO Bungalow and got up late. However, I had gone out earlier in the morning to view the morning scene in Hunza valley. It was truly mystic with high icy mountains above with a misty valley below. The perfect scene from the Shangri-La movie!

After breakfast we decided to go round and also climb up to the famous Baltit Fort. Karimabad is a very nice place with some beautiful old style houses. We saw many locals drying apricots. Hunza has a very interesting history. Hunza people are probably the friendliest people in the region. They are also called Hunzakuts. There is a theory that these people are from the lost army of Alexander the Great. They consider themselves Macedonians. A number of teams had come from Macedonia to conduct research on the subject. According to some the Hunzakuts are very much like the villagers living on the outskirts of Macedonia. There are many common words in their language and their dresses too resemble Greek folk dresses. The region has one of the highest literacy rates as compared to other similar districts in Pakistan due to the interest of His Highness Karim Aga Khan. Most of the people of Hunza now are Ismaili Shia Muslims, followers of His Highness the Aga Khan whom they consider their spiritual leader. The local language is Brushuski, Urdu and English are also understood by a number of people. Baltit now called Karimabad is a town of 9000 inhabitants in Hunza, one of the high valleys in Northern Area. Hunza was an autonomous feudal kingdom ruled by Mirs until 1974 when it became part of Pakistan’s Northern Area. This change in status occurred simultaneously with the beginning of the construction to the Karakoram Highway. The new road built with the Chinese aid, follows much of the ancient trade route between China and Central Asia. The people of Hunza had controlled and levied taxes upon this route for centuries. The main settlement grew around Baltit fort which commanded this section of the Khunjerab pass.

We walked up slowly to the Fort. The views all round are more rewarding than the Fort itself. I was not very much impressed by the Fort. We have the Leh and Stok Palace which are more commanding and impressive. Especially the Stok Palace is fully functional and the present Raja of Ladakh continues to live there. The Baltit fort poised majestically above the village and itself dominated by the Ultar glacier and one of the highest mountain peaks of the world is considered to be a unique part of Pakistan’s architectural heritage. The fort was built some 700 years ago and became part of a royal dowry when the princess of Baltistan married the reigning prince of Hunza. Since then it remained the residence of the Mirs of Hunza. The plan of this building shows that the fort evolved from a nucleus of one and subsequently several towers. These towers were linked by one story high walls and were divided into many small rooms with underground storage vaults. A second story and part of a third were added at different moments during its history, including the semi peaceful colonial period under the British at the end of the 19th century. The top storey was modified by adding verandas thus transforming Baltit from a fort into a palace. The building was abandoned approximately 50 years ago by the former Mir and his family in favour of more modern accommodations constructed on a lower terrace above the village. In 1986 when we saw the Fort it was not in a good shape. We were scared to go up as it seemed almost ready to crumble. Still we managed to go to the top to have fantastic views of mountains and glaciers in the back of the Fort. In 1989, the Mir of Hunza donated the Fort to Baltit Heritage Trust that was assisted by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture in its complete restoration. The fully restored Fort was inaugurated in September 1996 by Aga Khan and Farooq Leghari, the President of Pakistan. It was formally started as a cultural centre. The Fort after restoration has become an important tourist attraction.

During our stroll in Baltit we saw many handicraft shops with colourful Hunza dresses, caps, and other things. Traditionally dressed Hunza ladies look typically like folks from Greece. We also met some people and I was keen to know about the longevity of the population. The Hunza Valley is a high altitude, fertile valley that supports agriculture and provided complete isolation from the rest of the world. Now that isolation has been somewhat broken with the Karakoram Highway. The people have very clean habits. They eat fruit, vegetables, and undertake lot of physical activity. The air is pure and clean. Apricots are one of the important crops in Hunza. They are eaten fresh and dried and the kernel is crushed to produce cooking oil. Drying Apricots on rocks along the roads is one of the most colourful sights in this area similar to some areas of our part of Ladakh. Apart from Apricots, they grow cherries, grapes, plums, and peaches. They also eat a lot of grains -- wheat, barley, and millet. I was told that many physicians and other scientists have conducted research on the local people. Apart from their diet of fresh fruit and vegetables which they eat raw, the main thing is their happy attitude. In fact, they have been called by some researchers "The Happiest People on Earth".

The Hunza people have a certain relish and passion for life -- perhaps brought on to some extent by their daily rigorous exercise and simple lifestyle. Some researchers feel that the longevity is due to eating of Apricot kernel. However, there is another group of scientists that feels that he secret of long and disease free life of Hunza people is due to water. The water here has been found to have a different freezing and boiling point than the normal water. It could be due to presence of some special minerals in it. In any case, there are three important lessons from the life style of the Hunzakuts! Eat raw fruits and vegetables; exercise daily, and have a positive outlook on life. This is probably the greatest secret of their long life! As we had spent the entire day visiting the Fort and strolling through Baltit, we decided to visit Khunjerab Pass next day and then drive back straight to Gilgit. Hunza surely had a magical touch and one would like to laze out here and enjoy the glory of nature in its pure and true form!

(To be continued….)