Hunza and the Karakdrum, Northern Pakistan

The Karakorum Highway has become a focus for studies of the impact of increased mountain accessibility. As a participant of the German-Pakistan/Culture Area Karakorum symposium in Islamabad, I was able to cross the Khunjerab Pass into Xinziang, China, at 4,934 metres. Despite the majesty of the snow peaks – K2, Gasherbrum, Nanga Parbat, Rakaposhi – I selected this interplay of late afternoon sunlight and shadow on arid mountain ridges. The Ismaili Hunzakuts are responding to globalization with extensive assistance from the Aga Khan. The legendary mirdom has disappeared with Pakistan and Indian independence, along with several empires, kingdoms, and republics. The beauty remains, seemingly inviolate – beauty of land, people, and their architecture. But the way ahead in fraught with dangers, not the least being rapid development of tourism. It is to be hoped that the combination of the IYM and the International Year of Eco-tourism in 2002 will provide some effective solutions. The impressive defence structures of the past have become tourist attractions of today. This remarkable cluster of castle and flat-roofed houses is discretely coloured by ripening peppers and apricots and grossly discoloured by a single spot of green, white, and blue corrugated iron. The finest preservations reflect the commitment of the Aga Khan and UNESCO.

40  Below the Khunjerab Pass, Karakorum (September, 1995)

 41  Hunza and the Karakorum Highway (September, 1995) 42  Karimabad, Hunza, Northern Pakistan (September, 1995)
     

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