Home to skiers
Naltar, home of international skier Mohammad Abbas, has the potential to become a nursery for the international winter games
By Moeed ur Rehman
Naltar; home of skiing, is the loveliest place for a full-day outing from Gilgit. A former hill station of the British army, it is also known for carved wooden coffins which were introduced by the Gujjars of the area who brought this tradition from Swat and Kohistan of Hazara division. Such coffins can also be seen in Tangier Valley of Northern Areas. The valley is also known for its wildlife and magnificent mountain scenery.
Naltar is an enchanting green valley with peaceful and innocent people. It is located in an area of alpine meadows and pine forests 10,000 feet above the sea level and surrounded by snow-capped mountains. It is only two hours drive from Gilgit. It is well-connected by road with Gilgit, the capital of Gilgit-Baltistan. It is also connected by air with Islamabad (weather dependent) and by road with Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Skardu and Chitral. PIA is operating two flights to Gilgit from Islamabad daily.
The metalled road along the Hunza River till village Nomal, another beautiful valley of Baltistan known for delicious French cherries, climbs steeply along with Hunza River through a rocky gorge to emerge on the fertile, high-altitude pastures. One has to turn left from Nomal to reach Naltar. The climate and the road both change soon after you leave Nomal. The road from Nomal to Naltar is not in a good condition. It is broken at various points and is very difficult to drive on the road.
Although public transport is available from Gilgit to Naltar, which operates daily and charges Rs80 per passenger, it is not very comfortable. It is advisable to get a 4x4 jeep from Gilgit, which will cost about Rs2000 - 4000 for a day trip.
Naltar is rightly called the Home of Skiing. A winter trip to the area revealed that there is a base camp of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) at Naltar. Ski Competitions are held at Naltar regularly under the supervision of PAF and Pakistan Skiing Federation has installed two lifts at the skiing sites and is also planning to install another one there.
Interestingly, almost every villager starts learning skiing from childhood. I have seen many young children who know the art of skiing. “I started skiing when I was only 7 years old. We use to go to school after making skiing equipment from wood,” says Ghulam Murtaza, the sitting captain of Civil Aviation Authority skiing team who won the prestigious Shah Khan Skiing Cup 2010 this winter. He further said that if the government extended support to Naltar it could become a nursery for the International Winter Games. “If the government allows and supports us we will make a perfect under-14 boys skiing team.”
During the visit I saw another slope, which according to experts can be developed for international skiing competitions. “It is no less than Japan, Canada or Italian skiing slopes. It can be a world class slope if all other allied facilities are extended,” says Rehmat Ali, gold medallist in the 2010 national skiing championship.
International skier, Mohmmad Abbas, hails from this valley. He became the first ever-Pakistani skier to participate in the Vancouver Winter Olympics 2010. He is of the view that after the installation of the new chairlift the activities and performance of the players shall increase. “We need a good school, college, hospital, and metalled road in the vicinity,” Abbas said. Presently, there are two schools but they are not up to the standard. Our literacy rate is very low; we face unprecedented difficulties in treating our patients. We can produce dozens of Abbas from this valley who can raise the national flag very high at the international level provided the government supports."
Abbas and his co-villagers’ views carry weight. This neglected heaven on earth and home of skiing can produce a number of national and international players but it needs attention of the government. The sports lovers are also of the view that at least one government department or authority should take over the responsibility of such activities besides PAF. The CAA has a full-fledged team that has been participating in all winter games every year and winning medals. They should be given responsibility to train under-14 boys and form professional skiing teams so that a nursery of such players could be prepared for the forthcoming winter games.
Besides this, the tourism authority should take care of the area and initiate various attractive programmes so that the already ruined tourism could be encouraged. The area has immense potential to attract tourists.
The Gujjars, Syeds and other small castes are living in the valley. Most of them are agriculturists. However, some of them have found jobs as keepers, cooks and other low-paid employments in PAF and other government departments. The few lucky ones have got jobs in these departments as skiing players.
The picturesque valley is the perfect base for walks through the forest or up to Naltar Lake for fishing. The village is also the starting point for more energetic treks across 13,000 feet. The entire valley receives heavy snow from December to March. The weather becomes pleasant in May.
Also known as craftsmen who make carved wooden coffins, there are three villages in Naltar where one finds graveyards with wooden coffins. In local parlance, the wooden coffin is called Jhangla. The oldest graveyard of the Gujjars is located in Dalan where there are many carved wooden coffins.
“We install these Jhangla to protect the graves from animals since wood is not very costly. Here we decorate the graveyard with Jhangla,” says Murtaza, a local villager. Such wooden coffins are found in the valleys of Kohistan, Darel, Tangir and Chilas as well. There are 20 wooden coffins in the graveyard of Dalan. All the graves belong to Gujjars.
However, most of the graves are either de-shaped or damaged badly. Nevertheless, some of the coffins are still in good condition with variety of floral designs, mostly lotus and sunflower. There are two types of graves, simple and decorated. The simple wooden coffins belong to ordinary Gujjars whereas the decorated grave railings belong to notables and wealthy dignitaries of the tribe.