Situated between Chitral and Gilgit, the Shandur Pass is a plateau that is elevated to a height of almost 4100 meters.
The area of Shandur can be accessed between late April and early November. Tourism there is only possible via jeep, and it’s a 168-kilometer drive from Chitral.
The area is also known as the ‘Roof of the World.’ It is home to the world’s most resilient yet generous people.
Matches
During the annual Shandur Polo Festival, teams from Chitral and Gilgit Baltistan compete. There are seven matches played, and the festival lasts for three days, from July 7 until July 9 every year.
It is the highest polo ground in the world. Tourists can visit to have amazing food, witness amazing polo matches, and enjoy the warm hospitality of the Pakistani people.This checklist includes all bird species found in Shandur-Hundrup National Park , based on the best information available at this time. It is based on a wide variety of sources that I collated over many years. I am pleased to offer these checklists as a service to birdwatchers. If you find any error, please do not hesitate to report them.
Taxonomic
The taxonomic order and nomenclature follows Clements, version 2022. If you prefer to view the list based on a different authority, click on one of the list available below. Globally threatened species (status in red) were identified by Birdlife International in Birdlife Data Zone (species).
Bird Checklists of the World is part of Avibase and Bird links to the World, which are designed and maintained by Denis Lepage, and hosted by Birds Canada, which is a co-partner of Birdlife International.In the early thirties, Britain’s appointed political agent, Major Evelyn Hey Cobb (later Lieutenant Colonel) passed an order to Niat Qabool Hayat Kakakhel, Nambardar of Ghizer to establish a huge polo ground in Shandur. Kakakhel’s polo ground was later named “Mas Junali”: in Khowar language ‘mas’ means ‘moon’ and ‘junali’, ‘polo ground’. Cobb was very fond of playing polo by moonlight.
Shandoor Lake
Ali Sher Khan Anchan Maqpoun used to play polo at Shandoor when Chitral was part of the Maqpoun empire.[3] Historically, polo was played between the small kingdoms, villages and rival groups of Gilgit Agency. From 1936 on, annual polo tournaments were held at Shandur under the patronage of the British. The three-day Shandur Polo Festival has developed steadily in recent years into the massive celebration of mountain polo that it is today.
British rulers were impressed by the unprecedented constructional works of the people of Koh-e-Ghizer and offered Niat Qabool Hayat a prize. Instead, he made it for a collective benefit and requested British representatives stock local water streams with trout. Soon after, a large amount of trout was provided to the streams of Koh-e-Ghizer.
Many people from all over the world come to watch polo matches between Chitral and Ghizer[4] At first it was a training game for cavalry or other elite units. 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, the death of a favourite relative in a game prompted Emperor Apaochi to order the beheading of all players.
Sources: nomadparadise.com | wikipedia