Pakistan: A different world in Chapursan Valley

Length: ~55km (~34mi)

Duration: ~1 – 2 hours one way

Start: The road starts a few kilometers north of Sost in Gilgit Baltistan.

Difficulty: The beginning of the valley has some exposed sections, where you shouldn’t come of the road. Road slides can make the track more difficult, of course. Allover it is a beautiful dirt road in a condition well ridable on motorcycles.

Special preparations: The road into Charpusan valley leads to Afghanistan. There is a millitary checkpost a few kilometers after Zuwudkhoon, where you cannot pass anymore without a permit. We got told that you can get a permit to reach Baba Ghundi, but not instantly, so we didn’t apply for one. I marked the position on the map, where we turned around. However it is still a dead end road and you have to return either way. There also was a checkpost at the main highway (N35), where we had to register to enter the valley itself. We slept in Pamir Serai Guest House in Zuwudkhoon. They can prepare food for you, but if you want to go for hikes, you should rather make sure to buy some stuff in Sost.

How was it?

We visited this beautiful valley with our good pakistani biker friends Hamdan and Ibrahim. Without them we probably wouldn’t have found this amazing place.

Sost is a nice little and busy town. It is not very far anymore to the chinese border and you can already feel the chinese influence here. Just north of Sost is the entrance to Chapursan Valley. There is a small check post on the right side of the highway, where we had to register. 

The first part of the valley is a gorge and more adventurous than the second part where the valley expands. You pass a few little communities along the road. The locals are extremely friendly and it is very interesting to watch how they live in these harsh conditions.

When we arrived in the last village Zuwudkhoon it was already afternoon. We decided to spend the night in Pamir Serai Guest House. The owner of this beautiful place is called Alam. He speaks good english, is a great mountaineer and knows the whole region very well. It is very interesting to listen to his cool stories in the mountains.

After breakfast the next morning we actually wanted to ride to Baba Ghundi shrine and a glacier a bit deeper in the valley. Unfortunately you need a permit for that. Alam can organise this permit for you, but you cannot receive it instantly. However we didn’t have enough time for that.

There is a millitary checkpost after some more kilometers, where you need this permit to continue. So we decided to ride at least a little bit further into the valley and turn around before the check post. Although we couldn’t ride very far anymore, it was still worth going for it. The valley and the surrounding mountains are really magical.

Conclusion: We were late in season and couldn’t spend more time to explore this mystical region. The good thing is, that we have to come back one time because of that…

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