Fauna of the Nothern Areas of Pakistan

Northern Pakistan once was crawling with wild game. Trophy hunting was not known to anyone. There were professional hunters all around and use to hunt wild animals as it was a fashion of the time. Later on trophy hunting introduced and managed national parks with help of those professional hunters in some parts of northern Pakistan, but in some parts it is still the same the as past, because of these the wild animals are extremely  timid and confining themselves and live and live in most remote and inaccessible areas.

  So you can see some of the wild animals such as ibex, Markhor, Marco polo, blue bharal, or urial sheep, in some parts of northern areas.

  Brown bears are still plentiful on Deosia plateau, and you sometimes see them on the passes between Chitral and Yasin. You can mostly see ibex or its footprints along the Baltoro Glacier and Biafo Glacier and you can rarely see ibex along the Khunjerab National Park. If you know what to look for, you can also find snow leopard scrapings in the Khunjerab.

  Wolves still roam in the remoter valleys of d Gilgit, Nagar, and Hunza especially in the far eastern parts of the Shimshal valley, where you may also bharal blue sheep and the occasional wild ass, Lynx martens, stoats and Altais weasels still live in the northern reaches of the Kaghan valleys, as well as in Gilgit and Hunza. There are musk deer on the Deosia, in parts of the Nelum and Kaghan valleys and in the wild of Indus Kohistan.

  You will have good chance of seeing in broad daylight on Himalayan fox on the hillsides, cape hares along the ablation valleys and golden marmots standing outside their burrows and imAitating the piecing parts whistles that echo through in most of the parts of North Pakistan in Chitral, Yasin, Khunjerab and Deosia.

     BIRDS

  

Pakistan is extremely rich in bird life, with 661 species. This is a result of its favour position straddling two major zoogeographic zones, the Palaearctic and the oriental. The Indus is one of the major birds migration parts of the world for Palaearctic species which breed in the north in the summer and fly south to the Indian Sub-continent for the winter. They are on the move spring and autumn, using the major north-south valley as convenient freeways through the mountains. Hundreds of species from geese and cranes downs to tiniest warblers fly thousands of Kilometres each year.

  Though you miss the main migration if you are in the mountains only in the summer, you are still likely to see circling in the main valleys Black Kite, the Bearded Vultures and the huge Himalayan Griffon Vultures, with a rounded tail and wingspan up to three metres.

  On remoter passé between 4000 to 4500 metres, you may see Himalayan snow cock large lumbering bird the size of the domestic duck. These birds try to escape by running away uphill; you may hear their wild whistling from a distance cries on the slopes above.  Occasionally you may see the beautiful pigeons flying across alpine slopes. You will certainly come across lots hoopoe, with their distinctive black and white stripes, fawn head and fan-shaped crest. In Chitral in the summer you can see frequently golden oriels, spur song-birds serenading from trees and swooping in streets of brilliant yellow from one tree to next. There brilliant turquoise European Blue jays and in forested areas, the occasional scaly-bellied or Himalayan pied woodpeckers. High in the trees you often hear the mouse like a squeak of white-cheeked Nuthatches or the loud double-tremulous whistle of the black and yellow Grossbeak. Flocks of Tits and treecreepers fly rapidly through the trees of foraging for insects, buds and seeds. The birds interested people must look for the areas where they can see the birds they like and I hope you enjoy your trip with them

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Flora and Fauna of Northern Pakistan

  Once you leave the irrigated oasis, you trek up different zones of natural flora. Population pressure  and the need for fuel denuded many hillsides one clothed with scattered scrub, and indiscriminate felling of trees in some places have reduced many hillsides to a forest of stumps, leading to tragic erosion and loss of wildlife much remains to delight the trekkers.

  The areas surrounding most mountain villages is semi-arid deserts with clumps scented Artemisia, pale-blue and white globe thistle, some berries, the  old juniper or pine tree and scattered buck-thorns bushes covered in orange berries in autumn. Along the river valleys, you find several kinds of tamarisk with long feathery heads of pink flowers. In parts of Swat and Indus Kohistan, the lower slopes are covered with evergreen holly oaks.

  As you rise the air gets cooler and less dry. From about 2,000 to 3,000 meters in some of most remote and shelter valleys, there are large coniferous forests of Himalayan blue pine, silver fir, and spruce. On the drier slopes are scattered stands of the magnificent deodar, some specimen up to 50 meters tall with trunk tens or 11 meters in circumference, and a few chalgoza pine with smooth, grey bark peeling in dappled flakes. These trees bear cones that contain nutritious oily seeds that are delicious roasted.

  Above this to over 4000 meters, dwarf or creeping juniper willow and Himalayan birch reach tree size at the lower altitudes but crouch as bushes higher up. The birch trees are easily identified by their brown and white peeling bark, which still serves in some areas paper and wrap up butter for storage. Scattered throughout is the juniper still buried for its purifying smoke. The smoke is used to induce trance in shamans or fortune letters in some valleys this is probably carry over from pre-Islamic time.

Above the tree line, the moisture content of the air drops and you enter alpine meadows covered in a dvariety of flowers. In rocky places are saxifrage, pea-flowered astragulas, spurges, stonecrops, edelweiss and rock jasmine, with carpets of potentillas, primulas and gentions on the meadows. You also find taller, bright-pink and yellow houseworts, yellow fumitory and the pretty fringed white flowers of alpine campion. All these flowers at their blossom from  month of  June to August along the way you trek. You will enjoy the trip with no doubt with this flora.

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AGRICULTURE OF NORTHERN PAKISTAN

Most people in North Pakistan are peasant farmers. The average household has eight members sharing half a hectare of land. As most Northern Pakistan is mountain desert, with 20-200 millimeters of rain fall a year depending on the area, agriculture is possible only by irrigation.  Channels are dug from kilometers long feed the water from mountains, streams flowing from the glaciers to any patch of flat land. Water cannot be taken from main rivers, as in summer, swelled by melting snow, they rise many meters and become raging torrent that would submerge and tear away any delicate canal head works.

     Shortage of water is the constant problem in some parts of most villages of Northern Pakistan and the channels are patrolled 24 hours a day to maintain the flow, regulate the complicate system of water and guard against water theft. There is always a man striding along channel for opening or closing the sluice gates and repairing the bank. The channels also supply the water used in most village households, so be careful not to change or pollute them even by washing your hands in them.

  The crops grow vary from valley to valley and village to village depending on altitude and local customs and preference. In some areas in the low altitude people rotate their crops as Hunza, farmers usually rotate their crops, planting winter wheat in November, harvesting it in July and immediately planting maize, which harvest in mid-October. Higher fields may be under maize which with barley from late May to August.

   In lower Chitral a first crop barley is usually followed by rice. This is culture preference and perhaps shows difference in background, as Aryans traditionally eat wheat rather than rice.

  Potatoes were introduced to the mountain areas by the British late in the eighteenth century. They are sown in April and harvested in October. The usual vegetables are peas, broad beans, haricot beans, lentils, onions, spinach, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, courgettes, turnips and okra are grown in the northern Areas of Pakistan.

  Throughout the mountains fruit is an important part of the local diet. Most important of all is apricot. In northern there are varieties of apricots, which make unforgettable display when they blossom at the beginning of April. No part of the apricot is wasted: beside eating fruit the people use the shell for fuel, pound the nut for oil and use the pulp as animals feed. As some species grow at 3000meters even in the higher villages.

   Other popular fruit trees are apple, cherry, pear, plum and peach with all the families owing 5-10 trees of each variety.

   Live stock is also at great in the northern Areas of Pakistan. The usual domestic animals are goats, sheep, yaks, cattle and yak cow crosses which are called dzos. Yaks are used to pack animals which the cattle and crosses are used for milk, meat and pulling plough.

  The distribution of the animals varies in the different villages and valleys. Each family owns 20-30 goats and sheep and 3-5 yaks and cows or dzos. 

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Languages spoken in Northern Pakistan

Of the 14 languages are spoken in Northern Pakistan, at least half indigenous, the others being spoken   by the traders coming in from the surrounding districts. A further completion is the multiplicity of dialects that that tribal populations have evolved in isolated valleys. Balti spoken in Baltistan is archaic Tibetan, the Shina you hear in Gilgit is Dardic in origin, Brushaski in Yasin, central Hunza and Nagir is an original language unrelated to any other language, with different dialects spoken in Yasin and Nagar. In northern Hunza, there are Wakhi spoken people archaic Iranian dialects. South of Gilgit along the Indus, Kohistani, in kaghan the language Hindko to the west of Gilgit you hear Khowar, but the non Muslims of Kalash use their own kalashi and the Gujar. School children are taught in Urdu, and wandering through out Pakistan, Poshtu, Kashmiri and of course English.

 ® ECONOMY OF NORTH PAKISTAN

    Although, farming is the main occupation of the people of Northern Areas of Pakistan, about half of the household one or two men working outside of the agriculture. About 40 percent of these earn a regular wage from factories down the country in Pakistan or in the Gulf countries out of Pakistan, as a number of the army or government or in hotels. Another 35 percent earn day wages as porters or agriculture workers and about a third have a man working in the village as the craftsman, carpenter, builder, weaver, tailor or blacksmith etc.

  There are some small industries in North Pakistan, marble is quaried, antimony and such gems as rubies, emeralds and garnets are mined and Gilgit has factories jam, honey etc. Every village has shopkeepers and other merchants.

  Since the opening of the Karakurom Highway has grown between Gilgit and the rest of Pakistan and China. It is one of the main sources of the development of Northern Areas of Pakistan.

      

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Clothing and Equipment for trekking in Pakistani

Trekking in Pakistan is not like elsewhere in the world. There are different kind of areas with different climate and weather condition. Trekking and mountaineering equipment  depend on your own trekking styles, the time of the year you go and the length, altitude and difficulty of the trek. Though and preparations are required, as to a little or inadequate equipment is not only a discomfort but a potential danger and too much is expensive to proper and may be difficult to shift to the start of the trek. Obviously those carrying their own packs should take only the essentials those porter pack animals, however, can afford to take a few luxuries. If you go the very start or end of the season (June or October) you need warm and waterproof gear more than if you go in August. For one or two day hike, you need no more equipment than you would take on a walk of similar length at home, but for long trek much more comprehensive list is required. Generally the higher you go, the colder nights are and if you plan a walk for any length of time above the snow-line waterproofs are essential.

   Most of the equipment are available in second-hand shops around Gilgit, Skardu and Chitral. You can buy the equipment

 and they are not as expensive as you buy in your own countries. There are options to sell them back at the same shops at the end of the trip.

   The first and the most important for trekking is walking boots are worth spending considerable time and money getting right, as uncomfortable feet are misery on a trek as I experienced during my trekking. Generally you get what you pay for but a good sales person should be able to tell you the real value of the things you are going to buy. Boots must have plenty of ankle support and sole rigid enough to take the sharp edges of the rocks with ease. A Goretex lining though not necessary, is very good if you can afford it, as it keeps your feet dry when walking through wet grass or shallow streams. Unless you plan to do any technical trek or climbing double lined plastic  boots are suitable for attaching crampons are not necessary.

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Paperwork for trekking and mountaineering in Pakistan

·         Insurance

Life and death are part and parcel of the  human being, and accidents are the possible in adventure life so, be sure to take out a good holiday insurance policy. If you are planning really a remote and difficult trekking, this should coverage for by army helicopter, if you plan only ordinary trekking and going through easy passes, you may decide that coverage for helicopter rescue is not necessary, as you would possibly get out more quickly carried by porters with simple arrangements, but the people who plan to climb or going on a difficult trek and crossing difficult passes may need to have helicopter rescue before leaving from Islamabad the capital of Pakistan with Ministry of Tourism. You have to manage it in advance the army will send a rescue helicopter if you have guaranteed full payment in advance and collected the necessary authorisations.

   This is worth getting only you are trekking near Baltoro Glacier, which is in the line supply for the Pakistan army in its continuing struggle. There is a strong army presence along the glacier, with several helipads and radio stations all along the Baltoro glacier from which you can call for help. In addition, the army Heli-pilots know the region well and can come quickly to your aid.

   To organise rescue by army helicopter, is managed by Ministry of Tourism Pakistan Islamabad in the event that you need a helicopter rescue that that issues a letter in advance with guaranty of payment that necessary documents are prepared by the travel Company in Pakistan, you need not bother about it if you are with an organised travel company whether it is an international or a local company in Pakistan.

·         VISAS

All visitors to Pakistan must have a passport valid for six months after their intended departure from Pakistan and most nationalities need the visa to visit Pakistan. Visa application forms are available in Pakistan embassies and Pakistan International Line offices.

·         Trekking Permits

The official definition of trekking is walking below 6000 metres. Trekking areas are divided into three zones: open, restricted, and closed. No permit is required for the open zone which covers most of Pakistan. The restricted zone covers the border areas with India, China, Afghanistan and Iran and includes most of Balochistan and some of Chitral. It also covers some of the popular parts of Gilgit Baltistan, where a number of trekkers need to be regulated.

  Border areas are generally defined as being within 48 kilometres of the frontiers though there are the exceptions, for example, the restricted zone is within 16 kilometres of the border. India and Pakistan have been fighting on the Siachin Glacier since 1948, so all of the Siachin areas are now closed.

  The Ministry of Tourism Pakistan has approved many treks in restricted zones, for which permits are required. Permits are issued by the Tourism Division within 24 hours of time your arrival in Pakistan, which must be made in duplicate through an approved trekking  or tour operator and an approved guide must accompany all treks in the restricted zones and guide and porters must be insured.

    The regulation details the open, restricted and closed zones and conditions for hiring porters, guides, liaison officers. The exact duties of the liaison officers, mountain guides high altitude porters and low altitude porters are all specified by the government as are their requirement and food rations have been set by the Ministry of Tourism. Every party will be responsible to provide as the per government rule to avoid the conflicts between porters and trekking or mountaineering parties.

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Self Organised Trek in Pakistan

                                   

     

Self-organising your own treks entails getting yourself to the village closest to your chosen trek and hiring porters on the spot. A matter speaking English is essential because you can find someone in the village can speak little English and understand your message. This is our usual style unless our trek takes on to a difficult glacier for which we need an expert guide with mountaineering experience.

  For beginners, it is advisable to hire a guide as well, but finding a good one can be a problem.  As there is no guides association in Pakistan there is no special training or exam to pass you can trekking agencies to recommend a freelance guide or you ask around in hotels in Skardu, Gilgit, Hunza and Chitral  .If you are lucky, you may find an experienced guide who is between jobs for one of the bigger agencies.  You want someone who can tell you what equipment and food to take with you and may even fill you in on the costumes and folklore of the area. You may also need him suggest

    Trekkers with experience and confident can trek without the guide, as local porters usually know they had worked with someone, though, most have now to show you living nothing to go on but instinct. If your porter turn out be good give letters of recommendations for future use. You must be aware of rules and regulations for hiring of porters that has been set up by the ministry of tourism Pakistan.

      Pakistani trekking agents arrange trek either by mail or after arrival in Islambad, Rawalpindi, Skardu, Gilgit and Chitral. In Gilgit or Chitral again getting a good guide is the secret to success. Even those employed by some of the agencies vary enormously incompetent. It is best to quotes from several companies to find out exactly what they provide in the way of porters, food equipment and what experience they have.

  Although, using a local agent is more expensive than organising a trek by yourself, it still leaves you free to your itinerary and change it, if necessary, as you go along. It also relieves you of the worry of finding a guide and porters, as well as the expense of buying equipment that you never use it again.

   At last I would recommend to travelling with an experienced guide adds to the joy of your holidays and make you relax. You need not  worry about the safe places, clean water for use and many other things that you need during the trekking could be arranged

by your guide. You will have more information and know about the area. Most of the treks in North Pakistan are along the valleys with full of diverse culture and traditions you can explore it asking from you guide.

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