Hunza is the northernmost part of a region known as the Northern Areas of Pakistan. It is a real life green paradise on earth.
For many centuries it has provided the quickest access to Swat and Gandhara (in modern north Pakistan) for a person on foot. The route was impassible to baggage animals, only human porters could get through, and then only with permission from the locals.
Travelling up the valley from the south, Hunza is the land to the the left, and Nagar to the right of the river. They traditionally have been separate principalities.
From hunza there are spectacular views of the beautiful and magnificent 7,788m (25,551 ft) Rakaposhi.
The famous Karakoram Highway crosses Hunza, connecting Pakistan to China via the Khunjerab Pass.
Hunza has three parts, not divided administratively but ethnically: Gojal, mainly populated with Wakhi speakers; Central, with Brushaski speaking people and Shinaki, the Shina speaking people. Brushaski is understood throughout Hunza.
Until 1974 Hunza was a princely state with its capital situated at Baltit (also known as Karimabad). It is now ruled directly from Islamabad through the administration based in Gilgit, the regional capital of Gilgit-Baltistan.
Hunza was an independent principality for 900 years. There is a common missbelief that Hunza was under the rule of Maharajas of Kashmir, but it never was. The British failed to gain control over Hunza and the neighbouring valley of Nagar untill 1889.
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on Mar 4, 2005
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