Group TourGhizer
Shandur Pass Overland (Gilgit → Chitral)
Nine days across the top of the country — Gilgit to Chitral over the 3,700 m polo plateau, timed to the July festival.
PKR 112,000PKR 96,000$343 · per person
High Passes
Shandur Pass
The highest polo ground in the world
Why go to Shandur Pass
A flat green plateau at 3,700 m between Ghizer and Chitral, with a lake, a polo ground and — every July — the freestyle polo festival that Gilgit and Chitral have been contesting since 1936.
Shandur is a plateau rather than a pass in the usual sense: you arrive at the top and find grass, water and horizon instead of a col. The polo ground sits at 3,700 m, and the tournament held on it in the second week of July is the reason most people come — freestyle mountain polo with no umpire worth the name, played between Gilgit and Chitral teams in front of a tent city that appears for three days and then vanishes. Outside festival week the plateau is empty, and that is arguably better: Shandur Lake, marmots, and one of the great high-altitude camps in Pakistan.
Don’t miss
- Shandur Polo Festival, second week of July
- Shandur Lake and the plateau camp
- The overland route Gilgit → Phander → Shandur → Chitral
- Langar and Barsat on the descent
- Night skies with no settlement for 30 km
Common questions
Traditionally 7–9 July, but the dates move and are confirmed by the GB and KP governments a few weeks ahead. We hold festival departures provisionally and confirm as soon as the dates are announced.
Tours to Shandur Pass
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