Date: 26th & 27th September, 2015
We
wake up after a comfortable sleep at Taj Hotel in Gilgit where we arrived
yesterday from Sust the last town of Pakistan before china. We are all so
excited and frequently keep on discussing our marvelous trip to Khunjerab that
we have completed but at the same time, we are sad too, as we have left the
“Heaven on Earth”, Hunza Valley. Children are insisting that they do not desire
to move back to Karachi and reside at Hunza instead.
Gilgit
is the capital of Gilgit-Baltistan and a tourist hub. The city is at an
elevation of 4,800 ft. (1500 meters) and is fenced by the massive snow covered
Karakorum ranges. Today is the 2nd day of Eid in Pakistan, hence all
the markets and stores are still shut and there is very limited transport
available in the city. We decided to have breakfast at an outside restaurant so
we went out on the road. First, we travelled toward Sadar Bazaar and find out
that there are no shops open neither any restaurant along that street, we
walked till the Gilgit River and rest at that place for a while. Gilgit River
is a tributary of the Indus River and starts from Shandur Lake. The total
course is nearly 240KM (150 miles) and flows past the town of Gilgit before
joining the Indus River.
We
were starving as we didn’t have our breakfast yet, so now we travel on Col.
Hasan Road toward Airport road in search of a restaurant. There were many
restaurants on the road, but all of them are closed. Reverting back to our
hotel where we are staying we were glad to find a Sweets & Bakery shop,
from that shop we bought some snack and instant noodles for the kids. At our
hotel, we ask the hotel staff for the tea and at last had our breakfast after
such a long search.
After breakfast we
stay in our room watching TV and talking about our tour. It was really
interesting watching the local Gilgit-Baltistan channels, which offer us lots
of info regarding this area. There were many different channels broadcasting
local shows and programs and one channel is continuously broadcasting programs
related to different tourist sites and beautiful surrounding of
Gilgit-Baltistan region.
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| Gari Bagh Chowk |
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| Gilgit City |
After passing sometimes we again settled to go out, but this time our
intention is to travel to the surrounding areas. The weather outside was cold
and it was also drizzling. First, we walk toward Gari Bagh Chowk, this chowk is
identified by a statue of an Ibex built on a pillar. We walked toward the
Gilgit River and reached the bridge, the concrete bridge is connecting two
sides of the river for the traffic to cross the river. At a walking distance from
this bridge we spotted an ancient bridge that was built on the Gilgit River, it
is known as Konodas Bridge. This bridge is located in the Kashmiri Bazar area
of Gilgit city, linking the main city with Konodas, across the Gilgit River.
 |
| Gari Bagh Monument |
We went travelling on Sadar Bazar road the
path leading to Konodas Bridge, and at the middle of the route is a park by the
name “Gari Bagh”. This park also has
some historic importance and government has also constructed a monument at the
center of this park. Crossing the market, we took a right turn and hit the
famous Konodas Bridge, this is a hanging bridge and made with iron rods, sand
and stone bricks and the floor is made of wood. The bride is nearly 100 years
old and deteriorating because of ignorance by the government. People are still
using this bridge to traverse the river, we also walk on the bridge to view the
river flowing below, and while standing on the bridge we feel that bridge
continuously jerks as the people walk on the bridge. It feels a little scary,
but after getting some photographs we more toward Konodas. Konodas is a
residential area with small shops of daily usage items. While walking along the
road we discovered a track going downward to the river, we considered that
track and extended to the bank of the River Gilgit, the water was cold and
flowing with high pressure.
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| Konodas Bridge |
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| Konodas Bridge |
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| Hive at Konodas Bridge |
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| Konodas Bridge |
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| Konodas Bridge |
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| Konodas Bridge |
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| Konodas Bridge |
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| Konodas Bridge |
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| Konodas Bridge |
Passing some time at the bank, we return back to the main Gilgit area using the same Konodas Bridge. Now we use a different road parallel to the river in the direction of our hotel, on the route there was a small tea shop, the weather is awesome and it was still drizzling so we asked the shopkeeper to serve us the tea at the river bank. We were enjoying sitting and having some snacks and tea along the river bank, but suddenly it started raining and we have to move inside the shop.
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| Gilgit River |
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| Gilgit River |
Finishing the tea we again walked to our hotel, we cross the famous N.L.I Market but it is still closed. By asking people along the road they informed us that due to Eid holidays these shops are shut, but some stores might open in the eventide. Then we revert back to our hotel room and enjoyed viewing the TV again.
In the evening, we again went out and this time, some are shops open, we also visited the famous N.L.I Market and bought some souvenir for our friends and relatives. N.L.I is a large market and there are many different types of shops, but more interesting are those with handicrafts and local dresses. Wandering around in the market and doing some shopping we return back to our room.
Tomorrow we have to travel back to Rawalpindi and then finally back to our home in Karachi, so we pack your luggage and after dinner we went to sleep.
Konodas Bridge
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Day 12 & 13: Gilgit
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