Trekking from Chitral Town to Garam Chashma, Lotkoh Valley, Pakistan
Trekking from Chitral Town to Garamchashma: started trekking to Garamchashma (2550m (8389ft) from Chitral Town (1,494m (4901 ft), sharp at 6 AM, on Saturday, April 3, 2021. Given the elevation of the destination, the ascend of the route ranges from mildly steep to hard one.
It was a windy day, and the dust-ridden strong gust from the west flowed, whirled, and battered everything. But when I disappeared into the maze of the mountain to the north, so did the wind. Beyond Shahre-e-Sham it was calm and peaceful, a leaf moved, nor a single blade of grass stirred.
Shahr-e-Sham is a famous destination, and both national and foreign tourists visit this place to watch Markhor and wild goats, which come down to the riverbank for drinking water. One could also see them climbing trees with their cloven hoofs gripping the branches. Perhaps they have adapted themselves to this feline characteristic to savor the fresh leaves upon exhaustion of the vegetation on the ground.
The scene of the BBC documentary ‘Snow Leopard: Beyond the Myth’ was dropped here when a snow leopard for the first time caught on camera in 2007 whilst chasing the hunt. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hcepkhlO_s
I reached Shoghor by 12:10 AM and had a launch there. From Shoghor to Garamchashma the distance is 23 kilometers. The villages along the route richly reflect the beauty of early spring and I took a good deal of pictures.
At village Mogh I chanced upon meeting Mr. Hakim Shah and his sons. They were kind enough to invite me over for tea. They run a newly established camping site under the name of Garamchashma Tourist Garden. It is located near the river and offers trout fishing opportunities, camping in a peaceful natural environment, and viewing the village lifestyle, watermill, and so on.
Beyond this point, it took two hours to get to the main Garamchashma market and altogether 12 hours from Chitral town.
‘Garamchashma’ literally means ‘hot spring’, is famous amongst tourists. They come here to take a hot water bath, which is believed to be an elixir for many skin diseases. The Injigan Hotel has a good facility of the thermal pool for tourists.
Given the standard trekking protocols, this 45-kilometer trek is a 3-day trek, and tourists have to travel a maximum distance of 15 kilometers a day.
