Wonders of Hunza Valley: Baltit Fort, Altit Fort, Eagle's Nest, and the Spring
this is how a morning looks like in Hunza check the views from hotel balcony splendid morning time its 10:30 am and we are going for breakfast Salam everyone, hope all of you explorers are doing well your friend and buddy Afif Zaidi after good morning in Hunza at breakfast table our breakfast is here and we ordered usual desi nashta omelette and parathas with tea will take bath after this freshen up and meet you folks then plan today is for Baltit Fort, Altit Fort and Eagle's Nest let's see how we do the execution of the plan we off to Baltit now and crossing Karimabad bazaar we left in the after noon at 1:30 pm after a relaxed morning at the hotel both destinations for today, Baltit and Altit forts are nearby our hotel tomorrow we will leave early this is Karimabad bazaar, you will see a lot of cultural and local handicrafts will try and visit and explore here on way back from Baltit fort hotels are available all over in Karimabad Ali saw the direction board and told me to take the road up to right we have reached the parking of Baltit fort from here we will buy tickets to the fort we hired a jeep as it was pretty steep for me we are to enter the fort now with our guide quite a few stairs this is secrecy planning room or elders (Mirs) of Hunza original preserved dresses of the Mirs (Royal Family) this is where the Mir of Hunza used to sit and watch Polo match Mir of Hunza Mir Muhammad Jamal this car parking down below used to be a big Polo ground before 1974 This is renovated part of the fort so we visted the Baltit fort, the footage is not detailed because I left my GoPro in car and the other camera's battery drained very quick this all is Karimabad so now time to buy souvenir - a small Ibex - hehe! finalised the smaller one, cost PKR 1800 time to look the carpets sweet people of Hunza very expensive, but should be as this is all made by hand check the blossom colors of Hunza BEAUTIFUL Ali enjoying the beautiful colorful spring colors seems like we have entered a fairy land to Ali it seems like all fictional serenity and beauty levels touching MAX parked the car at Altit Fort parking here Altit Fort enterance small market filled with souvenirs small cafes lovely hospitable people of Hunza main entrance ticket booth blossoming trees, beauty all seems so lovely are we in heaven so is it not the pathway to heaven trees of cherry, apricot and almonds Altit is Gilgit Baltistan's oldest monument, over 900 years old people from Shigar built it this is fort's reception and first section this is vine cellar islamic clergy came here in 1620 from Iran after Islam vine cellars were socially banned this is a standing grave of a prince the younger prince revolted against his elder brother he was buried in this alive - Anarkali wan not the only one to be punished this way mongols used to punish this way the very first settlers in Hunza were mongols - Han dynasty they named this place as Hunzao this is a conference hall for the meetings and court sessions this is a cooking pot made from stone metal was used for weapons mostly the food was cooked for the elites and the ministers here in front of them from the fear of being poisoned roof was made such that cross ventilation happens for the smoke this is ventilation center in winters its closed such that warm air does not exit and circulates within this is the dungeon people from the population were kept here for mutiny they were tied in way they could not stand or lay down after apologizing they were turned into slaves if anyone from the elites used to go rogue they were killed this is a safety room or panic room English came here in 1891 - could not conquer Hunza so came through negotiation until negotiating contract was signed, Englishmen stayed here this is living chamber - living room of the Mirs this is an ancient clock, shadow forming by the sun on these wooden hinges determined the time this is the loo this is the bathroom - inside they would keep fire as well for warming up this is observation tower alongside is the store for storing food items this is a monestary behind the store is a place for capital punishment this is the place where people convicted or attackers were thrown down from 300 meters drop this is Fort's new structure new as in built by the Englishmen when they came here these were rooms for English political agents few pictures from 1932 showing history of Hunza showcasing people of Hunza and their living in these pictures women used to beat/thrash (wool carding) the wool weaving was for the men at that time more pictures showcasing tribal culture of Hunza we are done with Altit Fort visit and now headed to Eagle's nest we will see the sunset view there 20 - 25 minutes drive per the locals if locals say 20-25 mins we will add 10 mins to that time this is the road to Eagle's Nest through Altit village typical houses of this region we have to go at the top of the mountain there pretty steep road locals here have a pretty hard life beautiful views we have not seen any sign board of Eagle's Nest yet quite a few other resorts are here too another 1 to 2 kms away camping sites around here this pointed peak is called as Lady Finger at the Eagle's Nest now beautiful place its cloudy, so let's see how the colors of sunset come out to be this is the hotel adjacent to hotel a small market "Shehzadi" our ride such a beauty created by God Ali and Ameen in search of Markhor/Ibex sun starting to set and check the light and colors now in this and next few shots so folks we viewed the sunset from Eagle's Nest and had tea as well with this sun setting we are ending today's vlog tomorrow - in next vlog - we will meet again and will take you to Khunjerab and then we had to take a few more shots
2023-05-12 21:37
