Apricots in Hunza

Ok so it hasn’t been too long before we’ve discovered another line to the outside world…

It took us two days in Gilgit to recover from the bus journey. There were friendly faces but this is a troubled town. The security got tight just before we left after intra-Islamic tensions resulted in three murders in town. Peace still reigned in the Medina Guesthouse.

We are now in the Hunza valley - a timeless utopia of snow crested peaks, barren rocky slopes and a green swathe of cypres trees and apricot orchards. The people seem to get even nicer the further north we come and there have been some great guesthouse evening meals - a French motorcycling family, discussing the poor state of Cambridge clubs with a Northern Irish guy traveling by land to the Aussie rules/Gaelic football international in Perth in October. Even the Irish find the hospitality here good.

Tomorrow we’ll get to the trailhead at Hoppar for our first trek – a five day route taking in glaciers and a 5000 metre peak.