Culture of Gilgit

The Shandur plateau is usually the haunt of grazing sheep, goats and yaks. These occasionally become the prey of brown bear, wolf and even the rare and endangered snow leopard. There is a complex of extremely shallow, snow melt-fed lakes, which are only about 10 feet deep. The complex constitutes one of South Asia's great bird-migration flyways, and they play a major role in the propagation of species found nowhere else.

The lakes themselves are breeding grounds for species of frogs, toads, snails and plant life in addition to attracting the passing birds.

Polo at Shandur goes back a long way and is somewhat colorfully clouded in embellishment. But originally, the polo match at Shandur was a clash between the region's ruling classes with the princely Methars of Chitral and the equally princely Rajas from what is now the Northern Areas.

During the days of the British Raj, when Shandur was one of the farthest and most remote point north in South Asia where the Union Jack flew, polo rivalry was shared by the Chitral Scouts and the equally competitive Gilgit Scouts military regiments.

Even though the existing polo pavilion and seating area were