Shimshal: The Tranquil Heights and Changing Horizons

Journeying Through Isolation, Mountaineering Legacy, and Socio-Cultural Shifts in Pakistan's Hidden Gem

The Shimshal Valley is approximately four hours drive from Hunza.The road to Shimshal crosses the Hunza River on a suspension bridge and then enters a narrow gorge. During the years that Hunza was a princely state, the valley was used as a penal colony. Highlights of a visit to the valley are the Destaghil Sar peak (7885m), Mulungutti Glacier, Adver Sar / Shimshal Whitehorn (6400m) and Shimshal Lake which is famous for its natural beauty.

The approximately 60-kilometer road, a turnoff from the Karakoram Highway, was completed in 2003 after 18 years of construction mostly by the villagers of Shimshal themselves.

In 1985, the community began building its own link road from the newly completed Karakoram Highway (KKH), which follows the Hunza valley. Three years later, the road had progressed about 10 km toward Shimshal, and the fastest locals could reach the highway from the village was about 20 hours. At that time, Shimshal was one of the least accessible communities in Gilgit-Baltistan. It took 18 years for Shimshalis to finish the road, with significant monetary and logistical assistance from the district government and development agencies.

Shimshal is the highest settlement in the Hunza region and the last village in Pakistan before the Chinese border. Shimshal is one of four hamlets in the Shimshal Valley, along with Farmanabad, Aminabad and Khizarabad.

In the stunning Hunza Valley, Shimshal is undoubtedly a hidden gem. Due to one of the world’s most hazardous roads, getting there is a journey in and of itself. However, Shimshal’s allure stems from its remoteness. Shimshal has maintained its natural charm and attractiveness in contrast to its more visited neighbors.

When you are there, you’ll discover straightforward guesthouses and a serene setting that transports you to a time before commercialism made its impact.

Summertime, from May through September, is the ideal season to travel. Even though the weather in late April can be beautiful, the nights are frequently cold. Plan your trip between June and early September when the weather is most conducive to trekking and exploration for the best possible experience.

Its isolation has likely led to a concept called Nomas, which translates as ‘showing concern for humanity’.

Nomus, a Wakhi word that can be translated as ‘showing concern for humanity’, is a unique system of social philanthropy – and an integral part of Shimshal society. Essentially, it’s a system in which the wealthier members of the community sponsor a building project like a bridge, trail or wall by providing resources, food and/or their own labor to honor a relative’s memory (whether they are alive or dead) and to generate blessings of God.

In spring 2000, a Panos employee, who previously worked for an NGO in Gilgit-Baltistan and initiated the oral testimony project in Shimshal, held a 5-day workshop in the village. During this time, 9 men and 4 women were trained to collect, translate, and transcribe oral testimony interviews (for details of the methodology, see Panos 2011). By December 2002, they had interviewed 60 Shimshalis; 35 testimonies were subsequently published on the Mountain Voices website, where we accessed them ( www.mountainvoices.org).

Hussn, a female school teacher, describes the road's gendered effects quite differently: “Nowadays, men spend most of the time outside the village earning an income for their families. And the women then have to play all roles, such as watering the fields and forests, which were previously performed by men…Women are taking care of their kids, cleaning their homes, herding, and now are helping their husbands in agricultural activities.”

Hussn's understanding exemplifies the final narrative regarding the road's social effects. This discourse identifies a shifting gendered division of labor in the village, which constitutes men as monetary "breadwinners” rather than subsistence farmers and women as full-time agriculturalists, as well as homemakers.

Hussn and others anticipate that as women are increasingly burdened with a “double day” of labor, they will also gain more control over household resources and farm-related income, as well as greater participation in community-level decision-making.

Women's observations about shifts in the gendered nature of mobility, work, and responsibility reflect a more general appreciation that the road is likely to have multiple, conflicting, and contested effects and that different groups in Shimshal will fare differently

As is evident in the preceding quotation, Muhammad Baig thinks that economic prosperity will be accompanied by greater economic and social disparity that will kindle community disunity. “Young women have not got the same respect for the elders that was among us during the time of our mothers and grandmothers…In the high pastures the youngsters are now refusing the elders by saying that, ‘You are educating your own children, so why should we graze your livestock?’”

Another woman, Asmat, offers a similar assessment:

“Due to our close kinship our joys of life and sorrows of death were all in the one place. But there has been a decline in sympathy…for the reason that more and uneven earning makes people independent…When the road link is made, then the sympathy will vanish because people will become self-sufficient…The road will bring prosperity and self-reliance and will end our dependence on one another.”

Mohammad Raza linked accessibility, community disunity, and changing cultural values in his observation that “when people return to the village from the cities, they undermine our customs and values. Most probably our culture will change and the spirit of cooperation and unity would weaken, and people would think and act as individuals. This would create gaps between the people.”

The road allows Shimshalis who live outside the village to return home for visits more easily and frequently. Their baggage includes new ideas about clothing, Islamic practice, appropriate life goals, and leisure activities. Villagers worry that external influences undermine local customs and ignite tensions about what constitutes “indigenous culture.”

This prominent narrative of the transformation of indigenous culture draws from a growing sense that traditional ways of life lack social value for younger Shimshalis. Inayat, a young development worker, feels that elders have been “unable to preserve things and make people realize what their life is. Because of this modernity, it looks so beautiful if you see it from outside: money, cars, cities…I worry that a lot of festivals here and ceremonies are going to finish. People openly say, ‘These things are worthless. We should finish with them, we should be modern.’”

Shimshal that has a rich history in mountaineering like no other. The village is excellent as a staging post for climbing and adventurous trekking and locals are particularly friendly and welcoming.

Immediately south of the village is the Hispar Muztagh which contains the biggest Karakoram peak away from the Baltoro Muztagh in the form of Distaghil Sar (7885m). Elsewhere are other mammoths such as Kunyang Chhish (7852m), Trivor (7720m) and Pumari Chhish (7492m).

To the north are the Ghujerab Mountains which are some of the least explored in the Karakoram extending to the Chinese border. This was the region referred to as the 'Blank on the Map' by Shipton. Even today, many maps still do not survey the peaks of this area properly.

Twenty people from Shimshal have summited one of Pakistan's 8000m peaks. 3 have climbed K2, 5 have climbed Nanga Parbat and Broad Peak, 4 have climbed GI and a staggering 14 have summited GII.

Shimshal's long mountaineering history is partly due to its remote location. Long before the Shimshal's access road was built travel to the Karakorum Highway from Shimshal was by way of the Qarun Pass, 4873m, which involved an ascent up 2100m of treacherous scree.

Today locals still rely on the Uween-e-Sar (4650m) and Shachmirk (4560m) passes in order to move yaks to the summer grazing pastures around Shuwerth making it one of the toughest non-glacial day treks in the Karakoram.

Further, it is not uncommon for the 50km trip from Shuwerth to Shimshal via the two passes to be completed in a day by locals. As a result of the lie of the land around Shimshal it is not surprising that one village has produced so many strong climbers.

By far the most popular trek in the Shimshal region is to the Shimshal Pamir. The Shimshal Pamir is not to be confused with the Pamir Range of Central Asia as 'Pamir' means 'highland' in the Persian languages (to which the local Wakhi language belongs). The best aspect of visiting the Pamir is the village of Shuwert, which is the main summer herding settlement occupied by the Shimshali women. It's best to visit this area with a Shimshali as you will likely be invited to their family house in Shuwert. I have some good photos of this area that I will upload in a few weeks when I have my hands on them.

Other great treks are over the Shpodeen, Mai Dur, Boisum and Chapchingol Passes and rank as some of the most adventurous in the Karakoram.

There are also some rarely attempted possibilities in the the Hispar Muztagh to the south. The Khurdopin Pass leads to Snow Lake but is tough and really only suited to mountaineers. Further East, the Lukpe La at the southern end of the Braldu Glacier is another remote crossing.

Most of the Second East Gunj-e Dur valley remains unclimbed, and in the right conditions offers several worthy objectives.