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Home , Baltistan, Khaplu, Khaplu Palace, Satpara Lake, Shigar, Shigar Fort

YOUR ROMANTIC GETAWAY IN BEAUTIFUL ! Royal Palaces, Fortresses, Adventure and the Authentic Baltistan! – 5 days / 4 nights

EXPERIENCE SERENA HOTELS. EXPERIENCE -BALTISTAN

NAME: Your Romantic Getaway in Beautiful Baltistan: Royal Palaces, Fortresses, Adventure & the Authentic Baltistan LENGTH OF TIME: 5 days with options to extend and the option of staying in the Serena Hotel BEST TIME TO TRAVEL: Anytime from April through to November!

Day Destination / Drive Accommodation Details Activities & Highlights Optional Experiences Visual Reflection time

1 Palace & Residence Get your cameras charged and ready for an ultimate You have just arrived so we suggest you (55 minute scenic flight) (Full board) – Heritage Boutique Hotel romantic getaway of awe inspiring scenery. take it easy today. Deluxe Heritage Room Khaplu Click here for more information Arrive in time for a late lunch. Top Tip #1: Stop in Skardu bazaar to (2 ½ hour’s drive) purchase some local dried apricots & Take a guided historical tour of the beautifully restored almonds. A great snack to overcome a Supplement: & Residence. hungry tummy on your journey. Treat yourselves to the royal suite in the old Palace – enjoy the privacy of your own Spend the afternoon exploring the historical & cultural Top Tip #2: Take your pic at the sitting room with superb views over Khaplu beauty of Khaplu. junction of two powerful rivers – where & the towering mountains. the meets the . A Visit the imposing historic Khaplu Khanqah and its great moment to capture! newer addition being built by the community in tradition style. Witness the game of the kings when the locals of Khaplu jump on their horses for View the UNESCO award winning tomb of the saint a chukka or two of authentic . “Astana Mir Muhammad”. Candle light dinner for two pre-arranged Khaplu Royal Palace & Gardens Romantic dinner for two under the stars or in one of our in your private balcony! private dining rooms!

Polo – the games of the Kings!

Experience Serena Hotels. Experience Gilgit-Baltistan. | A Romantic Getaway in Beautiful Baltistan – 5 days | 2012 | Page 2 of 5

Day Destination / Drive Accommodation Details Activities & Highlights Optional Experiences Visual Reflection time

2 Khaplu Khaplu Palace & Residence Macholo Valley - vernacular architecture and spell Top Tip #3: Learn a little bit of Balti (Full board) – Heritage Boutique Hotel bounding landscape. A photographers dream. before you arrive. The locals will really Deluxe Heritage Room appreciate it. Here is a start: Click here for more information Take a short walk to see one of Central ’s Hello Assalamu Alikum largest Buddhist ’s and rock carvings. Goodbye Khudai fakring How are you? Lakhmo yota ju Enjoy a magnificent picnic lunch for you and your Thank you Baksohish beloved other by the Shyok River surrounded by How much is it? Xam la yo towering mountains and overlooking Khaplu.

Picutre Perfect Picnic Spot - Saling Devour deliciously cooked trout from the local Top Tip #4: Live like royalty and trout farm and enjoy other BBQ treats. experience Khaplu Palace & Residence’s Royal High Tea. Try the traditional Balti It’s time to stretch your legs – climb to Tea - Payoo Chai. You will never forget it! Thoqsikhar, panoramic view point and ancient seat of Yabgo rulers where ruins of the 400 year old castle are visible. (2 hour return walk)

Sunset from Toqsikhar, Khaplu

3 Valley via Thalley Residence First stop is Bara – a small village just 20 minutes Top Tip #5: If you have any spare note Valley (Full board) – Heritage Boutique Hotel from Khaplu. Visit a wool spinning & weaving books and pens the local Thalley School (2 ½ hour’s drive to Thalley Heritage Room centre that trains & supports local women. would be hugely appreciative. and 2 ½ hours drive to Click here for more information Purchase a local Baltistani topi! Shigar) Supplement: Drive up through the Thalley Valley – possibly Top Tip #6: Ask the chef to make you Upgrade yourself to the royal suite – enjoy one of the most spectacular & interesting valleys in some local fry (pancakes) – they are the privacy of your own roof top terrace that filled with terraced agricultural fields, local seriously delicious with butter and honey gets the best views of & the men & women attending to their wheat & potato and go particularly well with a hot cup of

towering mountains or ask for the crops, high altitude & mules and towering tea! Thalley Valley Honeymoon Suite in the Garden House. jagged mountain peaks.

Feel like the only two on earth with a gourmet picnic in total seclusion.

Welcome to Shigar Fort Residence – one the most romantic places in Baltistan.

Yaks braving the chilly river, Thalley

Experience Serena Hotels. Experience Gilgit-Baltistan. | A Romantic Getaway in Beautiful Baltistan – 5 days | 2012 | Page 3 of 5

Day Destination / Drive Accommodation Details Activities & Highlights Optional Experiences Visual Reflection time

4 Shigar Shigar Fort Residence Relive the history of Shigar Fort with a guided Take an early morning walk to see the ruins of (Full board) – Heritage Boutique Hotel walking tour. Shigar’s first fort, Kari Dong, dating back to the Heritage Room 11th century. Click here for more information Morning trip to the Great Walls of Skardu, , a 7th century Buddhist rock carving & . Supplement: Upgrade yourself to the royal suite – enjoy Late lunch back at the Shigar Fort Residence. the privacy of your own roof top terrace that gets the best views of Shigar Valley & the Visit the UNESCO award-winning restoration Shigar Fort towering mountains. project of the 14th century Amburiq Mosque

& nearby Khilingrong Mosque.

Astana of Syed Mir Yahya - the burial place of a Sufi missionary from who 16th Century mosque dating back to the arrival of promoted Nurbakhshisium in Baltistan during in Baltistan, Skardu Fort (Kharphocho Fort) the 17th century and now a place of pilgrimage and reverence for the Balti Nurbakhshi community. Optional all day trip to see the world’s 2nd

highest plateau (4,100m) – the Deosai Plains (6 Enjoy a romantic dinner for two in a surprise hour return drive). The architecture of the Astana of Syed location. Mir Yahya is a blend of Tibetan and Kashmiri styles typical of Balti saintly tombs.

5 Islamabad Homeward bound! It is time to leave Beautiful Baltistan! Top Tip #8: When checking in ask for a (55 minute flight) Or perhaps you would like to stay on and window seat on the left hand side of the plane – continue exploring Beautiful Baltistan with Stop off at the Italian Museum in Skardu you will get a fantastic view of Pakistan’s 2nd Serena Hotels. before ending up at the airport for your highest mountain Nanga Parbat (8,126m). departure. How about a trip to the famous high altitude Up, up and away! plateau of the Deosai Plains? We can tailor make an experience of a life time that you will never forget. nd Just let us know! The world’s 2 highest mountain – K2

How about staying a night in the Islamabad Serena Hotel. Ask about our city tours!

SOME OF OUR FAVOURITE BOOKS TO READ ON BEAUTIFUL BALTISTAN:

ü Pakistan Trekking Guide: Himalaya, and HinduKush by Isobel Shaw ü Empires of the Indus by Alice Albinia, ü Where the Indus is Young: Midwinter in Baltistan by Dervla Murphy ü A taste of Baltistan: Famous for Balti-Style Cooking by Sabiha Khokhar ü A History of , Gilgit, Baltistan by Parvez Dewan ü The Big Game of Baltistan and Ladakh: A Summer in High Asia by Frederick Edward Shafto Adair and Stuart Hill Godfrey

Experience Serena Hotels. Experience Gilgit-Baltistan. | A Romantic Getaway in Beautiful Baltistan – 5 days | 2012 | Page 4 of 5

LET THE PICTURES DO THE TALKING

The awe inspiring mountainous landscape Khaplu Palace Residence in its glory! Amburiq Mosque, Shigar Sunset over the Karakoram

Dine in style at Ancient Buddhist Rock Carving, Satpara The stunning meadows of Saling Historical luxury – Shigar Fort Residence! Khaplu Palace & Residence

Traditional threshing techniques The game of the Kings – Polo! The historical Shigar Fort Residence Satpara Lake, Skardu Shigar Valley

To book your Karakoram Experience call us on +92 (051) 111-133-133 or email at [email protected] www.serenagilgitbaltistan.com

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