Polo Festivals

See Gilgit key spots with our knowledgeable local guides

• Local Experience
• Balanced
• Some Walking
• Sightseeing

At 3734m, this is the world’s highest polo field, set in a magnificent landscape of rolling pastures, crystalline azure lakes & Hindu-Raj mountains, it is just the setting for the clash of the local polo titans, Chitral and Gilgit. This contest is considered the toughest polo tournament in the world with fraying tempers and passions running high, the strain of the high altitude and the ferocity of the game create a drama in which horses die and players invariably suffer grievous injuries. Yet despite the hazards, the polo tradition continues unabated


Historically the game goes back many centuries when the local Mehtars, Mirs, and Rajas were patrons of polo and it was played, not only for pleasure but for celebratory and commemorative occasions. The Mehtar of Chitral would send a message to his relatives the Rajas of Ghizar, Yasin, and Ishkuman and word would travel far down the valleys to Punial Gilgit and Chilas where the challenge would be taken up. But despite being dubbed ‘the game of kings’, in the Gilgit-Baltistan, it is not an elitist sport, often played in the village square on sorry nags or even on bicycles. ” It is the local obsession along with music & dancing on Shandur. In recent years, the event has become something of a legend – the dramatic landscape, the local color, the presence of international celebrities but above all the passion with which the game is played by the age-old rivals, make the Shandur Polo Festival an unforgettable occasion. A large tented village and bazaar is set up with thousands of people camping out

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