Uploaded June 2022 | Updated September 2026, 16 hours ago
In November 2020, I rode 55 km from Passu to Shimshal on a bicycle to document the stories of high-altitude-porters, aspiring mountaineers, and community members.
Shimshal is a remote town located 55 km from Passu in Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan. For centuries, there was no road link to Shimshal, and locals had to walk for days on a rough mountainous trail, crossing the river as many as 45 times.
In 1985, the Shimshal community started building a road link. Around 150–250 Shimshalis volunteered for the construction. After eighteen years of hard work, they had finished constructing a jeepable track between Shimshal and Passu.
In 2003, a jeep appeared in Shimshal for the first time. The entire village had gathered by the river to give a warm welcome. People had brought pots filled with milk. They poured milk on the vehicle as an offering. Everyone was in tears.
The jeep track remains one of the most dangerous roads to drive. The road is narrow and carved out in the sheer cliff face of the steep Shimshal River gorge. Besides, the gravel track is poorly maintained. Eight workers, equipped with nothing but shovels, have an impossible task of looking after the 50- km long unpaved road vulnerable to landslides, floods, and heavy snowfall.
Though the journey to Passu now takes only three hours on a jeep, it took me two days to cover it on a bicycle.
In November 2020, I rode 55 km from Passu to Shimshal on a bicycle to document the stories of high-altitude-porters, aspiring mountaineers, and community members.
Shimshal is a remote town located 55 km from Passu in Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan. For centuries, there was no road link to Shimshal, and locals had to walk for days on a rough mountainous trail, crossing the river as many as 45 times.
In 1985, the Shimshal community started building a road link. Around 150–250 Shimshalis volunteered for the construction. After eighteen years of hard work, they had finished constructing a jeepable track between Shimshal and Passu.
In 2003, a jeep appeared in Shimshal for the first time. The entire village had gathered by the river to give a warm welcome. People had brought pots filled with milk. They poured milk on the vehicle as an offering. Everyone was in tears.
The jeep track remains one of the most dangerous roads to drive. The road is narrow and carved out in the sheer cliff face of the steep Shimshal River gorge. Besides, the gravel track is poorly maintained. Eight workers, equipped with nothing but shovels, have an impossible task of looking after the 50- km long unpaved road vulnerable to landslides, floods, and heavy snowfall.
Though the journey to Passu now takes only three hours on a jeep, it took me two days to cover it on a bicycle.
