Pakistan: GILGIT PROVINCE, Part 2: Punial and Naltar, From the Memoir of Carolyn T. Arnold

Punial Estate in Chitral Province

My husband’s Aunt Carolyn traveled to Pakistan in the 1970's. The following are excerpts from her memoir of her travels.

Road to Punial

The next morning a jeep was provided for a ride to Punial. We were to have tea with Raja Jam Khan, King of Punial. This was once one of the hereditary kingdoms of Gilgit Province, but, in 1972, the Pakistani government abolished the Kingdom of Punial, although the people of the village still call him Raja. 

The approach to the Raja’s home was unusual. Down to the river again, we crossed a little bridge over a torrent, and we found ourselves in a courtyard surrounded by imposing buildings. We were shown into a private room adorned with many mementos, deep carpets, and comfortable chairs. Family photographs were on the mantlepiece. The Raja came in to greet us. He was a large man with twinkling, blue eyes and an enormous mustache waxed at the pointed ends. With a rakish smile, he beamed at us. We were served tea and a huge bowl of white, sweet cherries.

We returned to Gilgit during the afternoon. The last suspension bridge looked doubtful as I watched a jeep in front of us make the crossing. The bridge floor seemed to be built in several sections, each one swaying alarmingly as the jeep was lowered onto it. The floor of the first section was several inches below the surface of the road so there was quite a gap to span and the weight of our jeep lowered the bridge floor even more, each section swinging in a different rhythm. Soon we were back at the Vershi Ghoom rest house and began to relax from the exhausting ride.

Road to Naltar

Our next objective was a drive to Naltar, a beautiful spot high in the mountains near the northern border. The first part of the journey from Gilgit was fairly easy. Crossing a narrow bridge over the Gilgit river, we began a climb leading into the heart of the mountains. The road rose gently at first, then wound around mountain curves to the river again, only to zigzag up in a succession of turns and twists until we reached the “Spruce Forest.” The pungent pines, the towering mountains topped with snow in the distance, framed by spruce trees, made this a truly magnificent sight, especially in a land largely arid. We turned sharply across a log bridge onto a track that led to a green open area with numerous military buildings in the background. On the lawn was a picnic table where we had our lunch.

Naltar

After lunch we climbed farther up through the forest for a closer view of the snow peaks. On the way back, we met an old man and a young boy with a burro laden with firewood. They seemed pleased to have a picture snapped. How I wished I could speak to them.

We returned to Gilgit to prepare for the flight to Rawalpindi the next morning. There was no airport as such, so we joined the people from Gilgit lounging in the shade of a few trees, all waiting for the plane to arrive on the grass strip. The same flight over the mountains was just as spectacular as our first, with the white jagged peaks all around like some monstrous cake whose icing had been fluffed up into points.

Himalayas

Perhaps the original intrepid tourist was Carolyn T. Arnold, my husband’s aunt.  A single school teacher in Des Moines, Iowa, she began traveling abroad when she was in her forties, beginning with a bicycling trip through Ireland in 1950.  She went on from there to spend a year as a Fulbright Exchange Teacher in Wales, to more trips to Europe and beyond, and eventually became a tour leader, taking all her nieces and nephews (including my husband Art) on her travels.  When she retired from teaching, she wrote of her experiences in a memoir called Up and Down and Around the World with Carrie.  Today, as I read of her travels, I marvel at her spirit of adventure at a time when women did not have the independence they do today.  You can read of some of her other adventures in these posts on this blog:  October 21, 2013; October 7, 2013; July 29, 2013.March 10, 2014, February 9, 16, 23, 2015.