The Kalash live in three valleys (Bumboret, Birir and Rumbur) by the Afghan border in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In winter, flights to Chitral, the nearest town, are routinely and consistently cancelled without warning. My journey from Islamabad was by road, through Mardan and Dir up to the Lowari tunnel and then down the other side. In the winter, when the Lowari pass is blocked by snow, the tunnel is the only way of travelling to Chitral by road. Its construction began in 2005 and it is now open for a few hours every day. It is less a tunnel and more a 9km-long cave.
Advertisement
But in spite of the constant sense of peril it evokes, the tunnel is changing Chitral and the Kalash valleys. Previously, getting to the nearest city, Peshawar, meant a trip through Afghanistan. Now the tunnel brings supplies from the rest of the country. With access comes fear. "Extremists use the tunnel to come here," says Taj Udeen, a local police commander. "We have to make sure we know who is coming to our district."
They certainly knew we were coming. Tourism has dropped off steeply since 9/11 – in the 1990s thousands of people visited Chitral annually, now that figure is below 100 – and we were among few outsiders to visit the Kalash valleys in the past year. Desperate to make sure nothing happened to our four-strong team, 10 armed policemen accompanied us. We spent a month in the valleys. They never left our side.
For centuries, the Kalash have been fighting to preserve their traditions. People are converted to Islam every year. "Extremist Muslims prey on weak people and create internal divisions," Imran Kabir, a Kalasha polymath (he reveals that he is, variously, a butcher, teacher, writer and junkyard owner) tells me.
Northern Areas Of Pakistan is your destination for daily Exploring with fresh videos every day.
Follow my social media accounts for daily mind-blowing Destinations.
Subscribe us on YouTube -
https://www.youtube.com/c/NorthernAreasOfPakistan
Follow us on Dailymotion -
http://www.dailymotion.com/northernareasofpakistan
Follow us on Twitter -
https://twitter.com/NorthernAOP
Like us on Facebook -
https://www.facebook.com/northernareasofpakistan
Follow us on Instagram -
https://www.instagram.com/northernaop
Follow us on Pinterest -
https://www.pinterest.com/NorthernAOP
If you have any copyright issues then please contact me directly on -
northernareasofpakistans@gmail.com
Thanks for taking the time to view Northern Areas Of Pakistan Videos.
