Travel: Pakistan’s Little Tibet
There’s something about Skardu that makes you want to come to visit it again and again. I’ve been to many places, traversed paths less travelled and ventured to destinations most people may not have heard of but there is something special about Skardu. I’ve travelled there many times yet I intentionally leave some places unvisited — as an excuse to return.
Dubbed ‘Little Tibet’ in European literature — the Frenchman François Bernier was the first to describe Skardu in these terms — there are certainly similarities between the two places. Both are elusive, remote and remarkably beautiful.
Steeped in nature, Skardu’s landscape is rich and diverse — over there you’ll find forests, rivers, deserts and mountains. And there’s much to see such as the Deosai Plains, Shangrila, and the Kharpocho or Skardu Fort. The name Kharpochhe means the great fort, Khar in Tibetan means castle or fort and Chhe means great. After four years and on my third trip, I finally opted to go see it and scrutinised every corner of the fort.
If there’s one place to visit many times, it’s Skardu
There are many other tourist spots to see such as Shangrila and Sadpara Lake and on a recent visit there, I finally visited them. A 20-minute drive from Skardu city, Shangrila is an iconic tourist resort bordering the Lower Kachura Lake and is surrounded by towering mountains. Shangri-la means ‘heaven on earth’ in Tibetan and the place certainly lives up to its name.