Shandur Top
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| Shandur Top | |
|---|---|
| Elevation | 12,200 ft. |
| Location |  Pakistan |
| Range | Hindukush Mountains |
| Coordinates | 36°09′54″N 72°45′29″E / 36.165°N 72.75806°ECoordinates: 36°09′54″N 72°45′29″E / 36.165°N 72.75806°E |
Shandur Top (el. 12,200 ft.) is a high mountain pass that connects Chitral to the Gilgit in Pakistan.
The top is flat, a plateau and can be crossed between late April and early November. The grade is very gradual, and the area is crossed by small streams of trout. Grazing in summer is plentiful.
Every year there is a polo match played on Shandur Top between a team from Chitral and a team from Gilgit.
Shandur Top is one of the four major mountain passes to enter Chitral. The others are Dorah Pass from Badakshan in Afghanistan, Lowari Pass from Dir, and Broghol from the Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan.
The people who live on both sides of Shandur Top speak the Khowar language.
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[edit] Shandur Polo Festival
Shandur invites visitors to experience a traditional polo tournament which since 1936 has been held annually[1] in July between the teams of Chitral and Gilgit. The tournament is held on Shandur Pass, the highest polo ground in the world at 3,700 meters (the pass itself is at 3,800m). The festival also includes Folk music, dancing and a camping village is set up. The polo tournament is featured in the first episode of Himalaya with Michael Palin.
Gilgit, Chitral and Skardu have always played the game of polo closest to its original form. In the past, local Rajas, Mirs and Mehtars were the patrons of the game. At times, more than 50% of the annual budget of their principalities would be spent on supporting the game[2]
[edit] History
Polo is an equestrian sport with its origin embedded in Central Asia dating back to 6th century BC. At first it was a training game for cavalry units for the King's Guards or other Elite troops. To the warlike tribesmen who played polo with as many as 100 players to a side, it was a miniature battle. It became a Persian national game in the 6th century AD. From Persia, the game spread to Arabia, then to Tibet, China and Japan. In China, in the year 910, death of a favourite relative in a game prompted Emperor Apaochi to order beheading of all players.
[edit] Books
- The Gilgit Game by John Keay (1985) ISBN 0-19-577466-3
- The Kafirs of the Hindukush (1896) Sir George Scott Robertson.
- To the Frontier (1984) Geoffrey Moorehouse, pp. 267-270. Hodder and Stoughton Ltd., Reat Britain. Reprint: Sceptre edition 1988. ISBN 0-340-41725-0
[edit] External links
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Ground Effect - an excerpt from T. Mulliner's book Long Ride for a Pie, ISBN 1869661354
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXm-PdF24Uo&feature=related
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