Shandur Polo Festival at HIGHEST POLO GROUND of the WORLD in Pakistan

As Shandur Polo Festival is about to start in a couple of days, so I thought to give it some rightly deserved place on my Pakistan Travel Blog. You can view some of the most beautiful pictures underneath, while you can also see the Beautiful Postage Stamp issued by Pakistan Post here: Shandur Polo Festival Postage Stamp

Historical Polo Match at the Highest Polo Ground of the World is played between the teams of Gilgit and Chitral as the culminating point of the festival and the highlight of the Event.
Military Bands marches at the start of Shandur Polo Festival.

Horses and riders get ready for another exhibition of courage and strength at the Shandur Polo Ground.

Polo gets underway. Riders fight for glory.

Shandur Polo Ground is an absolute beauty at the height of 3,700 meters above mean sea level, which turn out to be a massive 12,650 Feet - Most of the countries DO NOT have a mountain peak of that height ;)

Lovely view of Shandur Free Style Polo

Para Gliding at such a height can also be fun to watch and perform.

Naran from a distance after the 1st Snowfall of Winter 2009 in Naran, Kaghan Valley

Here is a beautiful picture of the sbow-covered Naran Town from a little distance.

Mountains surrounding Naran - All covered with heavy snow!!!

1st Snowfall of Winter 2009 in Naran, Kaghan Valley

Check these cool and exclusive photos of the 1st Snowfall of Winter 2009 in the beautiful town of Naran in Kaghan Valley, Pakistan.
The first photo was taken inside Naran town:

A lot of snow. Isn't it?

You are missing Snow. I can bring some if you want. There is a lot of snow here and not many volunteers to take away ;)

A "Lovely" Trip to Lulusar Lake in the last week of October 09

A lovely trip to Lulusar Lake is definitely a treat but how about going to Lulusar Lake in the last week of October? Believe me it was still a treat while the mountains were covered in a beautiful white sheet of snow. The road and the mountains around the Lulusar Lake were also white as the fleece of Mary's Little Lamb - I hope that you remember "Mary had a Little Lamb - Its fleece was white as snow" :) So check these cool photos out:

A photo on the road to the magnificent Lulusar Lake:

A photo of the road on the edge of Lulusar Lake - The snow is getting thicker and thicker.

A beautiful view of the gorgeous Lulusar Lake:

Here is another photo of a magnificent view near the lake:

A trip to Babusar Pass in Early Winter Season

I happened to visit Babusar Pass on 23 October 2009. Although the greenery is almost finished, but still the views were absolutely Magnificent. It was chilling cold in the way as well as on the top. Here are a couple of photos of the visit.

The first one is the photo taken from the top of the Babusar Pass and features the view of the valley towards Chillas. The spiral-curling road finds its way down from the top very quickly. It looks just like a spring.

The 2nd one is a lovely photo of snow-covered portion of the Babusar Pass.

Here is a magnificent photo of the vast pastures of Gitidas from Babusar Pass. In the middle you can see the famous Polo Ground which features many Polo games during the summer season. At this point in time, the green pastures have been withered, entire area has been vacated because of the fear of arrival of harsh winter season and the mountains have been covered with white snow. Still the creativity of Allah Almighty can be seen clearly.

Snow at Kaghan Valley

Just a few more pictures of the Kaghan Valley during my cool heli ride. Enjoy!!! Aren't they cool???

The first picture was taken while travelling from Lulusar Lake to Jalkhad. The thick plantation of Pine trees near Jalkhad can be observed in the top left corner of the picture.

Snow is turning slowly in to water in the Kunhar River as we move closer to the famous and beautiful summer getaway town of Naran. Decreasing heights and lesser snow but still many slides on the road.

Houses covered in snow while the inhabitants leave their houses and shift to Balakot or Garhi Habib Ullah before the start of snow fall. They spend their winters in Balakot, Mansehra or Garhi Habib Ullah and move back to Kaghan and other forward areas in spring season along with their animals. Kaghan valley makes a wonderful place for the grazing animals with magnificent and colossal green pastures. I wish I could take my animals from FarmVille there for a season :)

Entering Kaghan Valley from Gilgit on a Flying Machine - Helicopter

A great view of the snow-coated Babusar Pass - A mountainous pass connecting Kaghan or Naran Valley to Indus Valley. The height of Babusar pass is 13,691 feet above mean sea level. While we are flying exactly above the great Babusar Pass, the vast plains of Gitidas can be seen clearly in the below picture. These snow-covered grounds turn in to huge green pastures in summers and serve as the summer homes of hundreds of nomads (Gujjar Tribes) along with feeding thousands of their animals including goats, sheep, cows and horses.

A snow-quilted view of Kaghan Valley near Lulusar Lake. The lake can not be seen at this time of the year as it is completely frozen however those of you who have seen Lulusar Lake thoroughly can clearly see the Northern portion of the lake in base of the white mountains (In almost the top, centre portion of the picture) where a plain white surface can be observed. Yes, you are right, it is not an ice rink but a fully frozen Lulusar Lake. The under-construction road moves along the nullah leading towards Lulusar lake on the left side of the nullah. The twists and curves of the road can also be observed, if seen keenly.