Altit Fort

A fort above the Hunza Valley in northern Pakistan, reached by a short steep climb from the bazaar at Karimabad and presented on the guided tour as 800 years old and as the seat of the kings of Hunza. It stands at 2,500 m (8,000 ft), and its purpose, the guide says, was Hunza’s military dominance of the region.

Obs: which of the valley’s two forts this is cannot be settled from the sources. The video description names Altit; the auto transcript points at Baltit and places the visit at Karimabad. The bundle follows the description here as it does on Baltit Fort, whose video names the other fort while its transcript points back this way. Treat the two names as possibly swapped; the tours themselves are entirely different and are recorded separately. Discrepancy logged.

What Harry did

Took the guided tour with Mac on the second morning in Hunza, having said in advance he isn’t a history person, and came out calling it very interesting. He did Wim Hof breathing on the terrace on the way in, and invited viewers to do it with him.

What the tour covers

• The kings. Mir means king. The first portrait is of Mir Ghazan Khan, who fled to China when the British entered Hunza and died there; his younger brother succeeded him, and the line runs down to Jamal Khan, the last king of Hunza. Jamal Khan’s son is still alive, aged 75, and the family still lives in the valley.
• Life before metal. Cooking pots carved from black stone — the guide calls them the ancient pressure cooker — used because there was no metal in Hunza. Metal and brass arrived only through travel to Kashmir and China. Wooden scales for weighing grain in half, five and ten kilos sit alongside them.
• A cannon used against British troops in 1891.
• The summer bedroom, where the royal family slept on the floor. Around 80% of Hunza still sleeps on the floor (from video – unverified).
• A lookout built for watching polo, and the first currency used in the valley.
• Traditional royal dress, very small doorways, and a basement visible through the floors.

The view from the roof

In clear weather seven of the region’s highest mountains are visible: Rakaposhi across in Nagar Valley, Diran and Sumayar peak, Golden Peak, Ultar under fresh snow, and Lady Finger with Hunza Peak behind. Harry’s line, looking at the summer bedroom’s window: he could never get bored of that view.

What it says about the valley

The tour is also where most of what the bundle records about Hunza’s history comes from — that it was a separate kingdom before Pakistan took it over, that the population is now around 120,000 against 4,000 in the king’s day (from video – unverified — Harry hedges the figure himself), and that Chinese, Tajik and Pakistani culture have all fed into the valley alongside several religions, with Hunza people counting themselves distinct from all of it.

Harry’s tips

• Take the guided tour even if history isn’t your thing — his own framing, and he changed his mind by the end.
• Go up in clear weather, for the seven peaks.
• Combine it with the bazaar at Karimabad below, which is where the day’s other half happens.

Source

• $8 Designer Shoes in Northern Pakistan 🇵🇰 — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS6jAHPQLfc