I’m finally on the verge of a new school year at Babson…4 days until I’m back to be exact! I was thinking really hard about today’s post and came across a memory of reading this book called Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin for my freshman orientation. I had dreaded reading it since I thought I was so done with summer reading when I left high school, but this book ended up being swell. (To check out this book, visit http://www.threecupsoftea.com/.)
In this nonfiction novel, Greg Mortenson describes his adventures and philanthropy in the mountains of northern Pakistan. He is attempting to climb Mountain K2 in honor of his sister Christa and on his way down after failing, he runs into a village called Korphe where the story takes place. I specifically remember his descriptions of this part of Pakistan and how heavenly everything was and thus, I decided to do today’s post on Baltistan, Pakistan.
Situated in the Karakoram Mountains just south of K2, the second highest mountain in the world (after Mount Everest), Baltistan is the main focus of Mortenson’s book. The area is often grouped together with Gilgit, a city in the area; hence the northern region can also be referred as Gilgit-Baltistan. Although very remote and little is known about this place by the rest of the world, Baltistan is no sight to be ignored.
According to the novel and internet sources, this region is not heavily populated. Villages and small towns stay in tight communities often with no small government, education, or businesses. It won’t be hard to travel to though, Skardu and Gilgit, the largest city and the region’s capital, are easily accessible.
I think pictures will do the magic in this post for you to get the full effect of Baltistan’s beauty, so here you go!
