Faiza Tehseen

Shimshal – the highest settlement in the picturesque Hunza Valley situated at an altitude of 3,100 metres above sea level – can be an ideal tourist destination in the resource-rich Gilgit-Baltistan province of Pakistan, said Majnoon Khan, Chairman of  Shimshal Nature Trust (SNT), mountaineer, trekker, and guide. He said exploiting the full tourism potential of Shimshal area will not only improve the socio-economic condition of the locals, but also earn the much-needed foreign exchange for the country. In the olden times, the people of Hunza used the lush green Shimshal Valley as a meadow for their livestock, i.e., yaks, oxen, sheep, goats.

He said the Shimshal community consists of about 2,000 people, but a considerable number of them, especially the young generation, are unemployed. The major sources of income of the people are agriculture, livestock, and tourism. Being a mountainous area, there are no regular fields but small patches of land where wheat, barley, vegetables etc are grown to meet the domestic needs. Mostly, the locals rely on tourists who come here for skiing or rock climbing.

‘’From 1990 through 2010, I acted as an active climber and hiker; I led a number of expeditions to K-2 and travelled up to 6,310 meters. Now, my team is active and I am too much involved in the development of this area for the socio-economic uplift of my people. As a result, along with male community members, females are also acting as mountaineering and trekking entrepreneurs. It is handsomely adding to their household income generation. However, now the community members want to turn the area into a tourist hotspot. The reason for all this awareness is the increasing rate of literacy in the area.

All activities related to hiking, mountaineering, and snow games are well-suited to the people here because it is their environment and they are at home in such crafts.’’ Majnoon Khan added that the valley receives snowfall from November through February, which is also a season of earning a livelihood. Government support and community contribution can make our glaciers an ideal spot for Pakistan to fetch a fortune from all over the world. Climbing remains a regular feature in the summer season.

‘’Some people are first-rate artists and they carve different types of shapes and artifacts out of ice. A little more training will add more value to their work. All community members are interested in placing their models in the natural ice caves where they can retain them for a long time to turn these places into tourist points like in other countries like China and Russia. It can be turned into an attractive small ice town in the winter season for tourist attraction.

At some places, snow stays the whole year. Such places can be used as regular well-established spots. Similarly, in central Shimshal, one to two kilometers of the area can be utilized for ice hockey, skating, sliding, etc. Another, 500-year-old place in Shimshal is the ‘Frameen Khana or the house of Muslim holy sayings’, a small place established by our ancestors to save the scriptures. Now, the community looks after it and a few other Muslim shrines are also worthy to visit here.

‘’If the government arranges a few experts from China, Canada, Italy, Japan, America, Germany, Spain, South Korea, etc, to train our people, they will become more expert in this profession. Secondly, hospitality and tourist guide workshops should also be arranged for their better performance. As Shimshal nears the China border, Chinese expertise can be coordinated, added Majnoon Khan.

 Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk