Day 96. Karimabad - Gilgit

Another wow day. 


We chatted for a while to a nice young couple from Islamabad, we met them yesterday and they helped us find the hotel we are in and also helped with suggestions for our itinerary, thank you to Aiza and Hamad.




We messed about in Karimabad for a wee while, taking in the views and taking in coffee. We wandered into a neat little street and perused a few shops. It is a picture perfect morning with blue skies and not a cloud in the sky. 



We then set off towards Gilgit with mouths open at the sheer grandeur of our surroundings. 











We stopped for a cold drink at the Rakaposhi lookout point, very impressive indeed. 










It was hard to throw the leg over the bike to leave this scene, we did and sure enough not far down the road we found something else to gawp at in awe. A section of the original Silk Road which has been restored far, far up, traversing a sheer cliff. Utterly gobsmacked. We took a photo of the explanation so I will let that speak.





We then set off for Gilgit, the valley opened up a bit and we left the big monsters behind for now.








Gilgit is a large bustling town, a trading centre, not much to offer a tourist but a bit of a cross roads where tours originate, there is an airport so it is a popular jumping off point. 
We timed our arrival perfectly with the end of the school day and if you think this time of day at home is bad believe me it isn’t. Coupled with significant roadworks we have had our first taste of manic traffic and congestion in this part of the world. 



Local taxi. Inside was also full of people. 

It is also much warmer in this area, late 20’s I would say with our touch of humidity thrown in as well. Might as well get used to it I guess. 
As we will be in a similar environment from now on, or else on slow gravel roads a lot I changed the front sprocket back to 14T. 

While I was doing that I met Ali, a tour guide from this area, I told him our plans and he was incredibly helpful with suggestions including dissuading me from a potentially disastrous road I was considering. So thank you to Deedar Ali Shah of Tour de Hunza. 
Unfortunately we have not had reliable wifi for a few days and probably won’t have for a few more, Robyn has found this very frustrating with uploading photos but we think we may have worked out a strategy.  

We went for a walk and found a nice place for dinner. 







Comments

  1. Audrey Larsen24 August 2019 at 11:56

    Enjoying the commentary and photos...magnificent views. Phew alright!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Maura24 August 2019 at 12:21

    Glad you took photos of the signs - really interesting

    ReplyDelete
  3. Rick24 August 2019 at 15:34

    Fork lift photo a classic !!!

    ReplyDelete

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