Pakistan Trekking Guide: Himalaya, Karakoram and Hindu Kush

Description

Northern Pakistan — the ancient crossroads in the heart of Asia — is a land of soaring peaks and secluded valleys, of shimmering glaciers and flower-strewn alpine pastures.

Yet this mountain world is so remote that many of its numerous principalities, which inspired Marco Polo to call it ‘noisy with kingdoms’, remained independent until recently. Today, Hunza, Gilgit, Nagar, Chitral and Baltistan invite the trekker to discover the grandeur of their landscapes and the hospitality of their peoples.

Following in the footsteps of Alexander the Great; of Chinese pilgrims seeking scriptures in the golden age of Buddhism; of the British and Russian explorers, adventurers and spies of the legendary ‘Great Game’, the mother and son team of Isobel and Ben Shaw went through the villages, valleys and passes of northern Pakistan, as few other foreigners have done.

A resident in Pakistan in the 1970s and 1980s, Isobel Shaw has written three other guides to the country. She and her youngest son spent five years exploring trekking possibilities over the length and breadth of the northern region. They consulted the notes of scores of fellow trekkers, and won the friendship of hundreds of Pakistanis eager to share with visitors the beauty of their homeland. The result is the Pakistan Trekking Guide, a complete handbook to this new frontier of alpine adventure.

In its 420 pages, the guide includes 100 treks and 49 maps.

Authors Biography

The mother and son team of Isobel and Ben Shaw know the villages, valleys and passes of northern Pakistan as few other foreigners do. A resident in Pakistan in the 1970s and 1980s, Isobel Shaw has written three other guides to the country. She and her youngest son spent five year exploring trekking possibilities over the length and breadth of the northern region, and return yearly to keep up-to-date. They consulted the notes of scores of fellow trekkers, and won the friendship of hundreds of Pakistanis eager to share with visitors the beauty of their homeland. The result is the Trekking Guide to the Karakoram and Hindu Kush, a complete handbook to this misunderstood region of alpine adventure.