Hussaini Bridge

A rope-and-plank suspension bridge across the river in upper Hunza Valley, northern Pakistan, widely called one of the most dangerous bridges in the country and, in the framing Harry repeats, in the world.

It was built by local people and they still use it — including, he is told, schoolchildren, who run across it because they have done it their whole lives. It has since become an attraction in its own right, precisely because of how it looks.

What it is actually like to cross

The planks are laid with big gaps between them, wide enough that a foot goes straight through — which is what makes running across it dangerous for anyone who isn’t used to it, and why Harry doesn’t try. The structure is rickety, and the handrail is not strong; the first section from the near bank is the worst of it.

His own assessment, from the far side: you probably wouldn’t die if you went in, but one careless step and you would slide straight through, and the water is between 1 and 5°C. The realistic risk isn’t falling, it’s dropping whatever you are carrying.

He goes over one-handed because he is filming, with frozen hands, and describes getting into a rhythm about halfway and picking up speed. His verdict at the end is the useful one: not that dangerous once you’ve done it a couple of times, which is exactly why the locals treat it as a footpath.

Practical facts

• Entry 100 rupees, about a dollar.
• Maximum seven people on the bridge at once, posted at the entrance.
• A short drive from upper Hunza, then a walk down to the river.
• −5°C on Harry’s visit in January, and gloves he had with him and didn’t wear. The sun on the mountains changes the temperature completely by midday.
• In winter there is nobody there. He counted one other person, possibly a local, and names the emptiness as the reason to come out of season — see travel in the off season.
• The mountains here are the jagged ones, which he rates his favourite in the country; the river is the same green-turquoise as the lake.

The coffee stand on the far bank

Worth the crossing on its own. A man has run a coffee stand at the bridge since 2017, set up after an Australian visitor helped him start it, and he keeps a book that customers sign with their name and country — the UK and the US dominate it.

His speciality is made by hand: the ingredients beaten together rather than brewed, the cups warmed with hot water first so the drink doesn’t go cold, and the whole thing shaken in front of you as a performance. Harry describes the result as a cappuccino, a hot chocolate and a latte at once, and it is the thing that turns the day around after he loses his drone.

350 rupees; Harry paid 500, because of the show and because he liked him.

Harry’s tips

• Zip every pocket before you step on, and expect to lose anything you hold loosely.
• Wear the gloves you brought.
• Stop and look back at where you came from — advice he was given once about walking generally, and applies here.
• Come in winter if you want it to yourself.

Source

• I Had an Accident at the Most Dangerous Bridge in Pakistan 🇵🇰 — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uawEjUw9Vs