Tourism in Pakistan

The real Shangri-la is an oasis inside Pakistan

By: Tom Hussain

Tourist interest in Pakistan falls into two camps, says Jonny Beale, award-winning travel writer and moving force behind Wild Frontier, a British adventure tour operator. "Those who will not countenance it, no matter what part of the country it is, and those that will travel across the north of the country." Via e-mail, Jonny and I are discussing Gilgit-Baltistan, the mountainous northern extreme of Pakistan that's so remote and culturally distinct from the rest of the country that terrorists can't get a foothold.

Wistfully, I ask Jonny what it's going to take to restore the popularity of a region that, before the September 11 terrorist attacks, was thronged by western tourists drawn by the myth of Shangri-la. Yes, the Shangri-la of James Hilton's Lost Horizon is in Hunza, Pakistan, not Tibet, although Tibet did rule the area for centuries.
For more, please click: www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/travel/the-real-shangri-la-i...