Alternative route now available for tourists

Our correspondent

Islamabad : Tourists who want to visit Hunza now have the opportunity to use the alternative scenic route through the Nagar area to reach their destination and enjoy pleasant weather in the ongoing summer season.

According to the details, the Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) in the Hasanabad area of Hunza destroyed the bridge due to which the area was completely cut off from the rest of the country. The tourist season was gaining momentum but this event forced thousands of tourists to cancel their visits to the Hunza area.

The Gilgit-Baltistan government and the climate change ministry have been working hard to ensure the safety of the local people from floods and provide safe routes to tourists who wanted to visit Hunza.

A GLOF in Shishper Glacier destroyed and swept away a strategic bridge renewing concerns about the disastrous effects of climate change in the northern areas.

The official statistics showed that tourism came back in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) where some 700,000 local and foreign tourists thronged during the summer season in 2021 to enjoy its mesmerising weather and eye-catching mountainous terrain.

Rajab Ali, a tour operator, said that “Hunza Valley is often referred to as heaven on earth. Enveloped by the grand Himalaya and the Karakoram mountain ranges, this area has been and continues to be a major tourist attraction in Pakistan.”

Deputy Commissioner Hunza Muhammad Usman has stated that the GLOF event caused panic among the tourists who started cancelling their visits to the Hunza area.

“Now it is wrongly perceived that Hunza has been cut off from the rest of the country because there is an alternative route available through the Nagar area from where the tourists can reach Hunza,” he said.

He said “It will take only fifteen additional minutes for tourists to enter Hunza from an alternative route through the Nagar area. This route is equally scenic and safe for vehicular traffic.”

“We have set up a helpline and the tourists can contact and get every kind of information before visiting the area. The district administration has taken measures to provide each and every facility to the tourists,” he said.