First Impressions of HUNZA VALLEY, Pakistan 🇵🇰

Part of Harry’s 40+ video Pakistan series. Harry and Mac wake up to panoramic snow-capped mountain views in the Hunza Valley in freezing winter weather (about −2°C by day, −7 to −8°C overnight). They browse a local dried-fruit and nut shop, tour the historic Baltit Fort with a guide, try non-alcoholic beer, eat a traditional Hunza dinner at the Hunza Food Pavilion — which Harry calls probably one of the best meals he’s had in Pakistan — and end the night dancing for two hours with a local band. The custom tour was arranged by their guide Akram.

Obs: this page is based on auto-generated subtitles, which are garbled in places; some amounts are marked unverified.

Itinerary

Hotel with valley views → dried-fruit shop → fort tour (royal gardens, watchtower, dungeons, balcony views) → sunset walk along the high street → dinner at Hunza Food Pavilion → traditional Hunza music and dance evening.

Key moments

• [00:00] Waking up to panoramic views of snow-capped mountains; −2°C and a night spent sleeping in full jackets.
• [01:01] Breakfast and a local shop full of dried apricots, mulberries, blackcurrants, nuts, and apricot/walnut oils — a mixed bag for 200 (from video – unverified). Harry is blown away by how much flavour dried fruit keeps.
• [04:43] Arriving at the fort; their guide says Hunza has an essentially zero-percent crime rate — lost wallets get returned.
• [05:45] Trying non-alcoholic beer, which can be drunk openly on the street; regular alcohol is brewed in Murree.
• [07:27] The fort is described as the first royal house, over a thousand years old — the oldest surviving standing structure in Gilgit-Baltistan. Entry was 1,200 (from video – unverified), about six or seven dollars.
• [09:34] The mud-built fort reportedly withstands earthquakes up to magnitude 8 (from video – unverified) and has survived several.
• [10:04] Darker history: a standing tomb where the king’s rebellious brother was entombed, an old wine cellar from pre-Islamic times, and dungeons.
• [11:07] Balcony views over the turquoise river (a ~1,000-foot drop), villages, and the valley.
• [13:09] The story that the British were accepted here because they wrote their letter in Persian — Harry’s cue that learning the local language opens doors; he’s learning bits of Urdu.
• [16:14] Dinner at Hunza Food Pavilion: noodle soup with coriander and mint, a thin “pizza of Hunza” flatbread with chicken and walnut oil, liquid local cheese, and digestive green tea.
• [22:42] Two hours of traditional Hunza music with a local band and a famous composer — everyone takes turns dancing; Harry ranks it among his best experiences in Hunza.

Extracted pages

• Place: Hunza Valley
• Place: Baltit Fort
• Country: Pakistan
• Tip: Learn the local language
• Person: Mac
• Person: Akram