The story of an unfortunate road trip in Pakistan, mama told me not to do a bus journey in Pakistan.

I won’t lie to you and tell you the journey is easy because it isn’t. However, people often travel to go on an adventure, and this was undoubtedly more of an experience than we anticipated! We were headed to a little-known destination in Pakistan called Khaplu. The main attraction of Khaplu used to be a Buddhist Monastery built in 1370 AD, which is now used as a mosque, Chaqchan Mosque. Khaplu is scattered with relics that are worth the long 4-hour drive from Skardu city. I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s rewind.

I knew nothing of Khaplu before watching a YouTube series by the CPIC where they invited foreigners to visit the north of Pakistan for a few days. That’s right, days? Way too short! It’s an epic series; all the vloggers are insanely talented so if you have to choose, watch theirs.

What stood out for me (and you’ll hear me say it a lot when you get to our Khaplu videos) was that Khaplu is nestled amongst the Himalayas, which is genuinely an idyllic backdrop to the mosques. After all, you don’t really link Pakistan with the Himalayas. Our minds align that space predominantly with Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet and India. Ladakh in India is incredibly close to Khaplu, so of course, Pakistan is in the Himalayas!

Were you aware that there are over 100 peaks in Pakistan measuring over 7,000 metres! That’s a lot of tall mountains, and where there are incredible mountains, there are stunning views! Pakistan has a landscape that rivals, and dare I say it, surpasses most other countries known for their natural beauty.

The problem with Pakistan’s lack of international tourism is down to perception, and that has to change as it’s a country full of mesmerising landscapes and friendly smiles.

The purpose of our trip was to highlight how easy and safe it is to travel around Pakistan so naturally; we had to undertake a local bus journey in Pakistan. However, first and foremost, it was about Natalie and I trying to immerse ourselves in my family’s culture, one I have often felt distant from. This trip was about to change it, and spoiler, it totally did!

Another tip, if you stay in Hussainabad as opposed to Skardu city itself, which I recommend you do at this time of writing, you can grab a taxi back to Skardu city for 200 rupees. The friendly driver will hook you up with your ride to Khaplu, or if you’d like to visit Gilgit from Skardu, he’ll drive you to the correct location for transportation. However, I’d like to be clear that 200 rupees are an overpayment. Still, the taxi drivers fall predominantly within rules one and three of travelling Pakistan, as stated by my mother (Bonus points if you’ve read that blog post) In truth, a large portion of the Pakistani population resides within rule 3; however, what we saw gave us belief in the future of Pakistan, everywhere we witnessed the importance of education and renewable energy. Imran Khans’ reforestation program is so progressive, and when you travel to this region, you’ll notice the abundance of trees and solar panels literally everywhere! Even in the significantly remote places, we passed on our drive over to Khaplu. We’ll explore an incredibly remote school in a future episode, a sight you’ll get used to after spending just a week in Northern Pakistan!

I’m going off again. This post was about the journey to Khaplu (from Skardu) and how you can do it yourself via public transport. This bus journey in Pakistan would cost 400 rupees per person, which is around £1.60 or $2. That’s an incredibly cost-efficient way of visiting Khaplu in Pakistan. The alternative is to hire a private car which costs around £35/$50USD per person, plus you get the benefits of travelling locally. You rarely get to witness epic experiences when travelling privately. Remember, our trip was about immersing ourselves in Pakistan, so we decided to take that seriously and boy, did we have an experience!

If you’ve followed us for a while, you will know random things happen to us. This is partly, actually the main reason, as to why we decided upon the name ‘Calamity Travels’. This journey was no different. It started well, and then a calamity occurred all too quickly. We’re not fools. We knew a bus journey in Pakistan wouldn’t go off without any hiccups, but it’s like I say, ‘You’re always where you’re meant to be,’ and we are always meant to be involved in a calamity or two. Just have to enjoy it and express gratitude that we’ve even got this opportunity to undertake a bus journey in Pakistan. It’s such a blessing.

Soon after we grabbed the taxi from Husainabad, our friendly taxi driver found us the ride to Khaplu. To our surprise, it was scheduled to leave despite not overflowing with passengers. In our experience and in the majority of countries we’ve travelled to in Asia, South America and Africa, buses leave when they’re full, but we weren’t going to complain. We set off within the next five minutes, Natalie and I were crammed at the back, but luckily the seat next to me only occupied my knees. We began the journey full of optimism and started our ascent east towards Khaplu. By now, we had begun to take the beautiful views for granted, and that’s when it happened.

Suddenly our minivan came to a complete halt after a thunderous thud. Everyone exited the vehicle, and we could smell burning rubber. Our first thought was that the wheels had fallen off, but upon further inspection (and more logical thinking), there they were! Perhaps it was a flat tire? Nope, wrong again. It turns out that the suspension had fallen off.

I’m not a mechanic. You’d be hard-pressed to find a person who knows less about cars than me. I should also mention this occurred around 11 AM with the Skardu sun gaining momentum, and here we were, broken down in the middle of nowhere, in 38-degree heat. I inquired about the vehicle’s condition whilst a few people continued their journey hitch-hiking, but we were led to believe this would all be resolved quickly. Perhaps, foolishly, we nodded and took in the glorious views that we, just that morning, started taking for granted. I always believe we are always where we are meant to be.

As this latest calamity coincided with our name, Natalie decided to conduct a Facebook Live. Can we just talk about that for a moment, please? We are in the middle of nowhere, there are no buildings in sight, just desert, rocks, dust and mountains, but Natalie was able to conduct a 15-minute Facebook live! Unreal, I told you Pakistan was more developed than you thought!

It turns out our faith in the roadside mechanics was well justified. They had us back up and running in no time. Plus, look at those views! Not a bad place to be broken down, eh?

Back in the slightly less cramped minivan, we continued eastwards and had an intermittent lunch stop to break up the journey to Khaplu. We spent a further three hours rocking from side to side, breathing in those fabulous mountain ranges, lakes and infinite pine trees in the distance. Not to mention the sheer amount of Solar panels and newly-planted trees we passed on the way.

When we arrived at the police checkpoint, we were glad to stretch our legs, albeit for a few minutes. The kindness from the police officers was unexpected, but by this time in Pakistan, not one person had made me use my ‘angry eyes’. They checked the documents and showed their surprise that Natalie was a Pakistani citizen, and then one guy explained to all the others that it was through marriage. They all said, “ah Shaadi, Shaadi,” and nodded with smiles, welcomed us into Khaplu and off we went back on the van. I suppose it doesn’t matter which country you travel to because, in the end, all bus drivers speed down the road. In Pakistan, locals hung on the back as we hurtled at breakneck speeds through these gorgeous, winding Himalayan roads. If you want a real adventure, undertake a bus journey in Pakistan. The one to Khaplu is full of experiences you’ll be hard-pressed to find anywhere else…

Welcome to the Pakistani Himalayas!

Toodles

USEFUL TIPS FOR BACKPACKING PAKISTAN:

How to Visit Khaplu from Skardu in Pakistan

This sounds like it would be a complicated journey, but in truth, it’s pretty simple. As is the norm in this area in Pakistan, you will first need to head to Skardu, Pakistan. Skardu will be the central point for a lot of your excursions. Skardu certainly was for us, as you can tell from the numerous videos we have filmed there. We documented our flight from Islamabad to Skardu, showing you how to do that journey.

Once in Skardu, ask your hotel for the bus to Khaplu, and they will tell you where to go. We cannot give you a pinpoint location because there isn’t a bus station for departures going to Khaplu. You won’t find any schedules online, nor will you find an actual bus station. The buses depart for Khaplu on the edge of town, and your hotel will direct you there.

A bus journey In Pakistan is rarely expensive compared to western standards, and if you’re on a tight budget, then you should do this as the alternative will cost you 10,000 PKR to Khaplu from Skardu. The bus will cost 300PKR per person for the journey with a food break after an hour or so, and if you’re lucky, your bus won’t break down as ours did. Trust us, take the bus; even if you’re not on a tight budget and enjoy the most amazing Pakistani food on route to Khaplu, you’ll have a chance to visit the colourful teeny tiny village of Gol, which serves up some of the best food in Pakistan!