Ghizer

Spring (April to early June) brings cherry, apricot and mulberry blossom across the villages of Phandar and Gupis. Summer (June to September) is the trekking and Shandur window. Autumn (late September to mid-October) turns the poplars and orchards gold, arguably the single most photogenic week in the entire region. Winter is quiet, cold and only viable to Gakuch and lower villages, most upper Ghizer is snowbound.

Ghizer is culturally the most mixed of the northern districts, with Khowar (the Chitral language) spoken in the upper valleys, Shina in the middle, Burushaski in Yasin and pockets of Wakhi in Ishkoman. Historically it was the natural western extension of the Silk Road spur, connecting Gilgit through Yasin to the Wakhan Corridor and Central Asia. The classic dish is roasted trout from the Ghizer and Phandar rivers, and the takeaway is dried apricots, mulberries and walnuts from the valley orchards. The mountains here are lower and the passes gentler than in the high Karakoram to the east, giving Ghizer a softer, greener character that appeals to travellers who want the north without the extreme elevation.