Riding in Pakistan gives me a strange sense of comfort and joy. It is a complete and total adventure, but at the same time it feels quite safe and comfortable: (i) there is a sense of nonlinearity (i can stop my motorcycle anywhere on the road and trust that people will be chill about it), (ii) i do not stress about getting stranded (fuel is plentiful enough, there are plenty of hotels at low occupancy, and the weather is not too cold, so camping would be comfortable), and (iii) everywhere I go are spectacular sights, friendly people who are warm and don’t take themselves too seriously.

I woke up well rested (despite finding bedbugs on my pillow yesterday right when i was about to sleep; they switched my room immediately and moved my things for me), and spent some time scrolling before finally getting up. The views were quite spectacular, so I was extra motivated to make coffee and enjoy it.

This is living

Since the rooms did not have kettles, I broke from my usual routine of making it the night before in the room, and instead went to the restaurant at breakfast time, found myself some boiling water and started to brew.

The guy running the restaurant seemed nice enough so I offered some to him as well. He was about to put sugar in it when I told him “absolutely not” (it was a Panamanian gesha from Asylum coffee in Singapore that a friend gifted me), and he was quite impressed by the coffee. I knew he liked it because my first pour for him was small, and he refilled his glass.

To my surprise, the hotel put a sheet on top of my bike overnight

I had been quite laissez faire on route planning, so i knew that i vaguely wanted to progress further south, but also wanted to see some nice sights along the way. I decided that Gilgit was too close, so I could fit in a visit to nearby Nalter valley as well, which was a recommendation from my friend Farrukh.

ChatGPT had mentioned that the roads there were not good/needed 4WDs, but everyone else I spoke to at the hotel said “no the roads are good”, so I decided to follow the local intel.

Today’s route in blue

It was quite fun and lighthearted ride; I slowly made my way through little mountain villages with bumpy roads, colourful flags and mountain views, stopping frequently to take photos. It honestly looks like a blessed or elven land here in Hunza with the sun catching the leaves of autumn trees, leaving glowing patches of yellow and orange among rocky cliffs and snowcapped peaks. I find myself on occasion forgetting which side of the road to ride on; Pakistan is on the left (which is contrary to most of my riding, since Thailand), so once or twice I have been riding on the right, much to the confusion of drivers here (until I see them approaching and their confused looks, and then revert to the correct side!)

Mountain villages on the Ducati Desert X

Local mosque

Supposedly where two intercontinental plates meet

I turned off the Karakorum Highway at the town of Nomal and proceeded into the valley.

The entrance to Naltar

Road to the lakes

Riding to a local village

Local gang who watched me park my bike on the footbridge, then climb a few walls to get a better angle for the photo

The roads went from perfect (recently laid) asphalt, to areas with sections of the road collapsed (presumably due to floods in August), to a rocky dirt track, to actual rocks / enduro type riding as i proceeded up the Nalter valley. The final destination was Nalter Lake, which was supposedly super beautiful (although I was not super impressed by photos i found online).

Washed out road

The going got quite rough, and before long I was riding through deep 4wd ruts and pure rock sections (fist sized rocks). About 5km away from the lake, i stopped for a breather where a stream intersected with the path.

Chonky glacier at the peak

The going towards Naltar Lake

As i filled up my bottle from the stream, along came a group of bikers who were riding small capacity bikes. We stopped for photos and chatted for a while. I asked about the route ahead: “how is the road? Like this?” “It’s an adventure! Another 30 minutes but the sun has dropped beneath the mountains so it is not as beautiful”. When I shared that I was keen to end the afternoon in Gilgit, they recommended that I don’t proceed, since it would soon get dark.

I decided not to proceed at this point

And so I turned my bike around and we stopped for some tea by the riverside. We were also joined by a German couple who were travelling by bicycle from Germany, and headed to Singapore.

Tea by the riverside

The group of bikers “the Dolphin Riders Club” had come from a town nearby Lahore and were on a tour in this part of the world. They planned to stay in Hunza, then explore Skardu, take the road via Babusar top to Islamabad, and then proceed directly to Lahore (the final day is a crazy trip taking 16-20 hours on their bikes).

Afternoon sun on lofty peaks

This was quite helpful for me; I had been curious about riding via Babusar (which is supposedly much nicer than the Karakorum Highway), but concerned about snow. Likewise, the Skardu area (which is close to K2). According to their intel, these areas were completely open and absent from snow; so I have some route adjusting to do!

I headed back at a brisk pace, recharged by the sweet tea.

They like Che here

Road to Gilgit

Road to Gilgit pt 2

Stopping only for photos and directions, I made my way to Gilgit, to stay at the Ramada.

Garlic vendor

Fruit vendors in Gilgit

This hotel was a bit like a fortress; circled by high walls and barbed wire, the guards (complete with tyre shredders and tall metal gates) asked me if I had any “weapons” (which are prohibited) before allowing me in. They were very hospitable; the concierge kept calling me “dear”, and told me how his favourite cricketers were Ricky Ponting and Brett Lee. He even helped me swap some USD for PKR as a “favour” because those cricketers were technically my countrymen (although the agreed upon rate was very unfavourable).

Ramada security

By his recommendation, dinner was at a local restaurant on the complete other side of town, about 15 minutes away. This was the only place the concierge could recommended in all of Gilgit, and to be fair, it was pretty good.

In the evening I exchanged some DMs with one of the people I had met in July while riding the Pamir Highway. He mentioned that the locals of Gilgit and Hunza are very similar to the Pamiris in faith, language and blood. They were divided by England and Russia in 1894, with the formation of the Wakan corridor and the Panj river as Afghan territory, acting as a buffer zone between the great powers.

I am only ~200-300KM from the Pamir region of Tajikistan

Tomorrow; Skardu!

Some stats:

• 169 KMs travelled
• 50g coffee consumed
• 10.7L fuel added
• 6 unique interactions

Part 2 route to date

Complete route to date