GHIZERGILGIT-BALTISTAN· 36.08°N 72.55°E
Shandur
The roof of the world's polo ground — a wide green-gold plateau on the high pass between Ghizer and Chitral.
Overview
Shandur is a broad, treeless plateau at around 3,700 metres, on the pass that links Ghizer with Chitral. It is a place of pure high country — wide green-gold grassland, a shallow alpine lake and open sky, with distant snow peaks on every horizon. There are no towns up here, only the plateau itself and the thin, cool air.
Shandur is best known for its polo ground, often called the highest in the world, where a famous festival is held each summer. For travellers crossing between Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral, the plateau is the scenic high point of the entire route.
Suited for
- Adventure
- Local culture
- Photographers
- High country
Good to know
- Best time to visit
- June–September (polo festival in early July)
- Suggested duration
- A high crossing, or festival days in July
- Getting there
- High pass on the Gilgit–Chitral route; jeep track
- Altitude
- ≈ 3,700 m (approx.)
Popular places to explore
The most beautiful and worthwhile places in and around Shandur.
Shandur Lake & Top
A still alpine lake on the roof of the pass, reflecting the sky.
Shandur Lake is a shallow alpine lake spread across the Shandur plateau, close to the top of the pass that links Ghizer with Chitral. At around 3,700 metres the setting is pure high country — wide green-gold grassland, open sky and distant snow peaks, with the still water reflecting the clouds. There are no towns up here, only the plateau itself, and the air is thin and cool even in summer. For travellers crossing between Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral, the lake and its surroundings are the scenic high point of the whole route.
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Representative imageShandur Polo Festival
Free-style mountain polo on the highest polo ground in the world.
Each summer, usually in early July, the Shandur plateau hosts the Shandur Polo Festival — matches of traditional, free-style mountain polo played between teams from Gilgit and Chitral on what is often called the highest polo ground in the world. Alongside the polo there is music, dancing and a tented camp on the grassland, and visitors come from across Pakistan and abroad to watch. Outside the festival days the polo ground is a quiet, empty green field, but the event remains one of the most famous cultural gatherings in the mountains of northern Pakistan.
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