Shandur Pass
| Shandur Pass | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Map of mountain passes in Pakistan and Afghanistan |
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| Compass direction | west | east | |
| Pass height | 3738 m | ||
| District | Chitral | Gilgit | |
| Watershed | Mastuj → Kunar → Kabul | Gilgit | |
| Valley locations | Chitral | Gilgit | |
| expansion | unpaved slope | ||
| Mountains | Hinduraj | ||
| particularities | annual polo tournament on the Shandur plateau near the top of the pass | ||
| map | |||
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| Coordinates | 36 ° 5 '0 " N , 72 ° 33' 12" E | ||
The Shandur Pass , also Shandur Pass ( English Shandur Top ), is located in the Hinduraj Mountains in the Chitral District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan . The pass reaches an altitude of 3738 m and connects the Chitral district with the Gilgit district in the Pakistani part of the Karakoram .
On a 3728 m high plateau near the top of the pass is the highest polo pitch in the world, on which a tournament has been held every year since 1936. In the meantime, a three-day festival has arisen around the polo tournament, which is held in July every year.
The venue can only be reached by four-wheel drive vehicles on the unpaved slopes of the Shandur Pass ; from November to May the pass is impassable due to snow and ice. The plateau is 168 kilometers from Chitral and 211 kilometers from Gilgit .
Chitral district
The Chitral district, in which the Shandur Pass is located, is one of the most remote areas in the world, as it can only be reached at times over four mountain passes or through the Kunar Valley from Afghanistan via Jalalabad all year round. All passes to Chitral are over 3,000 meters above sea level and are not passable for months in winter. The four passes are the Dorah Pass and Broghol Pass , which lead into the Wakhan Corridor to Afghanistan, while only the Lowari Pass to Peshawar and the Shandur Pass to Gilgit in Pakistan connect. The 8.6-kilometer Lowari tunnel is due to be completed in spring 2010 and will then create a winter-safe connection.
Shandur Plateau
The Hinduraj Mountains in Pakistan's north are divided with lakes, rivers and glaciers and the Shandur Plateau with Shandur Lake is fed with water from the glaciers in the surrounding mountains. The excess water from Lake Shandur drains through the Gilgit River , where trout swim. In the folklore of Chitral, the mythical spirit Shhawanan comes down from the mountains in the evening to bathe there. In spring, when the snow has thawed, the grass grows on the plateau and forms the best basis for the galloping horses.
The plateau is divided into two different landscaped sections. One part consists of the lake, the polo field and huts of the Laspur tribe of Chitral. The other part is south-north and is called "Langar" or "Kukush". This area had a forest in the past and is used by the Ghizer and Laspur.
Historic polo
Teams from Gilgit and Chitral have held a traditional polo tournament every year since 1936 , which is also known as Polo at the Roof of the World (German: polo tournament on the roof of the world). The tournament is played in an original rather than a modern form of polo. The patronage for this tournament used to be a prince ( Raja ), prince ( Mir ) or king ( Mehtar ) of the region. Around 20,000 people now come to this polo tournament and festival over the three days.
Polo is played in many parts of the world and is a very important sport for the Pakistanis. Many Pakistani have played polo from childhood and there is a field in almost every place in northern Pakistan. The tournament goes back to the British Maj Evelyn Cobb , who discovered the high pitched field and initiated the tournament. When the game starts, a band plays local music. If a goal is scored, the goalscorer must bring the ball to the center line with his right hand, because then the band plays for the goalscorer and he then has to throw the ball into the air. This is called a Thompq .
Modern and international polo is played by two teams of four players each who try to hit the ball into the opposing goal with a long wooden stick. Internationally, polo is played six times for 7 ½ minutes. In northern Pakistan there are two games for 25 minutes with an interval of 10 minutes, whereby the horse may not be changed unless it is seriously injured. There is no referee, only a timekeeper. In traditional polo, the teams consist of six players.
Polo has historical roots in ancient Persia around 600 BC. From there it spread to Arabia and India with the Islamic expansion . From India the game made it to Great Britain and became an Olympic discipline in 1900.
Shandur Festival
During the festival, which now takes place every year from July 7th to 9th, evening dance and music performances take place on the plateau. A campsite has been set up to accommodate the many festival visitors . Originally it was just a polo tournament, today it is supplemented by an open-air cultural festival , where performances are also performed.
Web links
- Information about the tournament on www.shandur.com
- Video of the polo game on the Shandur Plateau
- Illustration of the polo field with the tent city
- Tournament picture on a billboard for a Pakistani telephone company
- Detailed map of the north of Pakistan
Individual evidence
- ↑ Illustration of the gravel road of the Shandur Pass , accessed on December 21, 2009
- ↑ Data from www.shandur.com ( Memento of the original from July 6, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed on December 12, 2009
- ^ Zar Alam Khan: The dispute over Shandur in Pakistan's northern areas , accessed December 12, 2009
- ↑ a b c Shandur Festival: Polo at the Roof of the World by Manzoor Ali Shah , accessed on December 12, 2009 (English)
- ↑ Jessie Voigts: The 2008 Shandur Polo Festival. wanderingeducators.com, May 17, 2008, accessed October 30, 2010 (according to an interview with Tayyab Mir, editor of Pakistan Tourism News, in 2008).
- ↑ Polo at www.etymonline.com , accessed on December 12, 2009 (English)
