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What are the
drivers/guides like?
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Due to the independence of Pakistan in the
1940s and the development of impossible roads through the mountains by the
new government, communities with hugely different cultural and ethnic
backgrounds were for the first time brought together. The only unifying force
in this new community of Afghans, Chinese, Mongols and Tibetans to name but a
few, is the interest of the outside. Consequently, a new class of people have
developed over two generations whose job it is to interact with the outside
world – the most obvious are the jeep drivers. In present day Pakistan, jeep
driving has become a well-respected occupation and many people are trying to
get in on the act. The original, and highly experienced drivers, however, are
still few in number (less than 100 in the whole region), but are well known
within this new community, though not immediately to outsiders. As a result
they often do not get the respect they deserve and are undercut by less
experienced and less safe drivers. By offering the elite drivers a guaranteed
income over the tourist season, KJTI is able to exclusively use this group.
The drivers themselves prefer to take on a group for a whole month and get to
know and earn the respect of their passengers. Perhaps most significantly, by
working directly with the drivers, we can put hard currency directly into the
local economy and not into the pockets of government officials. Mr. Karim
Baig is a typical example of a second-generation driver – In KJTI’98 he was
27 years old and had been driving jeeps for 15 years. Originating from the
Hunza Valley, near China, he is 5’2" tall, has olive skin, slit-like
eyes and light brown hair. He speaks 7 languages including English, but more
importantly, this allows him to communicate in the local language in every
region in North Pakistan. He has also been a jeep mechanic since the age of
11, and builds from scratch about a dozen jeeps every year, including his
own. He has been working with Westerners since he was 16. His driving ability
is of such a high standard that, counterintuitively, one tends to feel safer
in the back of his jeep crossing a precipitous gorge at 12,000ft than in the
back of a mini in London!
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Why
North Pakistan?
Is
it safe?
How
long is the trip? Is the itinerary flexible?
What
do I eat? And will I get ill?
What kind of places do we stay at overnight?
What is included for the price? What is not
included?
What is the weather like? And what do I wear?
BACK |
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Is it safe?
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Although the perception of the trip is that
it is one of a ‘hazardous and adventurous nature’ (see booking conditions),
the skills of our drivers are second-to-none, especially when you consider
they have all been driving these same roads full-time for over a decade. But,
what about the political situation, kidnapping in Kashmir, rioting in
Karachi? Indian Kashmir is very different from that on the Northern Pakistani
side. Currently most of the political pressure is on India to release the
area around Jammu and Srinigar to independence. Rightly or wrongly, they are
unwilling to do this despite the civil actions from the majority Muslim
community that live in that area. Moreover, it is more relevant to us that
India, it seems, is more interested in keeping what it has than taking the
politically unstrategic mountainous areas of North Pakistan. Karachi,
however, is in Pakistan and is most definitely as dangerous a city as
a place like New York. But, it is also 1500 miles from Gilgit, the centre of
the Northern Areas, and in a country where communication and infrastructure
are poor, there are absolutely no ramifications on our area of interest. The
so-called ‘tribal areas’ of NWFP (Northwest Frontier Province) are also
termed ‘unsafe’, but again only in outlying regions. Peshawar, the only place
we visit in this area is also its capital and has been politically stable and
safe for foreigners since before the British arrived on the subcontinent.
Perhaps more importantly, you will always be travelling with local guides and
local Pakistani drivers who know from long experience that, like anywhere in
the world, in North Pakistan there are places where and where-not to go. 99%
of the time, however, these isolated peoples are extremely welcoming and as
excited and happy to see you, as you are to see them.
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Why
North Pakistan?
What are the drivers/guides like?
How
long is the trip? Is the itinerary flexible?
What
do I eat? And will I get ill?
What kind of places do we stay at overnight?
What is included for the price? What is not
included?
What is the weather like? And what do I wear?
BACK
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How long is the trip? Is the itinerary flexible?
Why
North Pakistan?
What are the drivers/guides like?
Is
it safe?
What
do I eat? And will I get ill?
What kind of places do we stay at overnight?
What is included for the price? What is not
included?
What is the weather like? And what do I wear?
BACK |
From Heathrow to Heathrow you will need 15,
23 or 37 days. Normally, you will fly the day tour starts and be met
at the airport by your guides and taken to your hotel. The tour itself is
then 14, 21 or 35 days and covers 2,500 to 4000km. In a typical day
you will spend four to seven hours standing or sitting in an open-top
jeep, which includes frequent stops for food, photo-ops, goats in the road,
etc. Although this appears to be a long time to spend driving around, the
actual perceived time in the context of the incomprehensible and
ever-changing scenery is very, very much less. Indeed, one of the few
complaints about KJTI in previous years is that there were not enough
hours per day in a jeep. The planned trip itinerary is fixed for a number of
reasons. Firstly, from years of experience it has been found to be the best
possible use of the limited time available. Secondly, since three to four
people share each jeep and we travel in jeep pairs or triplets, having a
fixed route avoids any disagreement. Having said that, the drivers are
extremely willing to stop as frequently as required along the route or to
drive up short side routes for better views. At the end of the day,
the route is tried and tested, as well as safe. It will not disappoint.
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What do we
eat? And will I get ill?
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As with other developing countries, KJTI
follows the golden backpackers rule: "Eat what, where and when the
locals eat." With local drivers, this is a relatively straightforward
thing to do, as they already know where the best places are in each town and
village. It is often the best time to ‘hang out’ in a given community, and
literally get a taste of how things are done. The food is correspondingly
varied although fairly simple: in Baltistan, for example, the food has a
distinctly Chinese style, whilst in aboriginal Hunza, it is like nowhere else
in the world. Overall though, people that do not like Indian spices in their
food probably will not eat very much! Eating locally means the food is
fresher and does, to a greater extent avoid most travellers’ stomach
problems. During the day, or in isolated locations, the drivers will either
cook fresh food or provide canned food with biscuits.
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Why
North Pakistan?
What are the drivers/guides like?
Is
it safe?
How
long is the trip? Is the itinerary flexible?
What kind of places do we stay at overnight?
What is included for the price? What is not
included?
What is the weather like? And what do I wear?
BACK
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What kind of places do we stay at overnight?
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KJTI believes that just because you are
travelling in a fairly wild and basic place, you should not have to stay in
primitive accommodation. Every night, apart from two, we stay in hotel
accommodation, which, as a minimum, has running water, and most have an
ensuite toilet and hot shower. We also strongly believe that to really enjoy
a place you have to live in the middle of it, even if that means making some
compromise to how comfortably you spend the night. For example, in the
village of Brum, in the Rombir Kalash valley, the people and their unique
culture are what we have come to see, so that, although there are more modern
hotels outside the valley, we stay in a basic cabin in the middle of the
village. Many travellers on previous KJTI trips have said it was the best
place they stayed, because they chose to sleep outside on the veranda under
the stars. In Karimabad we stay in on a hillside hotel. On Deosai, on the
other hand, we stay under canvas at 15,000ft on the edge of a freezing river
and cook dinner over an open fire! The accommodation is always as varied as
the places and people we visit.
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Why
North Pakistan?
What are the drivers/guides like?
Is
it safe?
How
long is the trip? Is the itinerary flexible?
What
do I eat? And will I get ill?
What is included for the price? What is not
included?
What is the weather like? And what do I wear?
BACK
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What is the weather like? And what do I wear?
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The climate is not dissimilar from summer
in the South of France, though the weather is a lot more changeable. It can get
as warm as about 35C, but is generally cool at night. At very high altitudes,
(e.g. day 8, 13) it can get very cold
and windy at night. Again, the easiest solution that we have found has been
to wear what the locals wear – that is ‘shalwaar chemise.’ These outfits are
not only cool and comfortable, they make a significant difference to the ease
with which the drivers break down the cultural barriers on your behalf. To
that end, KJTI provides a couple of shalwaar-chemise, which, with free
laundry, have proved to be enough for the duration of the trip.
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|
Why
North Pakistan?
What are the drivers/guides like?
Is
it safe?
How
long is the trip? Is the itinerary flexible?
What
do I eat? And will I get ill?
What kind of places do we stay at overnight?
What is included for the price? What is not
included?
BACK
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Adventure Travel in
North Pakistan www.kjti.co.uk
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