Pakistan – the lazy man’s whitewater paradise

As we crossed the border into Pakistan, we stumbled upon a small shop with a refrigerator. The temperature was around 40 degrees Celsius and the sun shone proudly in a cloudless midsummer sky. The plan was to hire a car to take our equipment to the bus station in Lahore from which we could catch the 30 hour bus to Gilgit. Instead, we decided to sack it off for a couple of hours and have a Fanta. This encounter has set the pace for the rest of the trip.

In fact, our little expedition seems to have merged perfectly with the Pakistani way of life; a lifestyle punctuated by regular tea breaks, naps and obscure public holidays. Why this morning, I spent half an hour in a mobile phone shop drinking a whole pint glass full of juice that tasted like Parma Violets. Imagine if you didn’t like Parma Violets! That would be awful. Luckily, I do like Parma Violets.

And then there’s the rivers: From raging silt stained torrents to crystal blue glacial streams, almost all have been thoughtfully located next to a road. ‘But surely there must be hundreds of undiscovered classics just seconds off the beaten track?’, you may ask. Well until they build a road next to it, I’ll be in the pool drinking my Fanta.

With love from Pakistan,
James

Here’s a few photos of the trip so far. We’ve found a huge range of whitewater and there is still so much more to be done.