Pakistan is one of the few countries with such a dynamic landscape; rivers, deserts, lakes, waterfalls, springs, glaciers we seem to have it all in great abundance.
The much renowned Hunza valley is often referred to as heaven on earth, enveloped in the grand Himalayas and the Karakoram mountain ranges, this place has been a great tourist attraction for many years.
For me it all happened when I was 22 years old and left the home without telling anyone and reached Gilgit. I did not know where to go from Gilgit; stranded, I heard a bus boy calling the passengers for Hunza. I had heard of Hunza, so I hopped the bus and I could only paint pictures in my mind of what was coming next.
Hunza is located at a distance of 100 kilometers from Gilgit. In early 1890s, the British embarked upon a mission to annex Hunza and Nagar, which is also known as the Hunza-Nagar Campaign.
British soldiers led by Colonel Durand occupied Nilt Fort in 1890. After that, they proceeded to the Baltit Fort, but faced heavy resistance.
The British gained complete control of Hunza and Nagar with little effort. Thereafter, the Mir of Hunza, Safdar Ali Khan along with his family, fled to Kashgar in China, and his brother Mir Muhammad Nazim Khan was made the new ruler of Hunza by the British.
Hunza enchanted me so much that I spent several years traveling to Gilgit-Baltistan soon after I was introduced to this place.