Game Of Kings Entices Tourists On Second Day

News Desk

Gilgit: Known as Game of Kings, the Shandur polo event drew a sizable crowd of domestic and foreign tourists on the second day on Saturday amid much fun and excitement, and they applauded the experienced and young players of Chitral and Gilgit Baltistan with cheering hands.

The spectators are overwhelmed by the cultural folk music, Shandur Lake, paragliding, rock climbing, mountaineering, and delectable foods.

“I have heard a lot about the Shandur Polo Festival, and today my dream to watch my favourite free-style polo matches on the world’s highest polo ground came true,” said Ali Khan, a resident of Peshawar. “The horse-riding skills and sportsmanship demonstrated by the players impressed me the most,” Ali added.

Freestyle polo is a unique sport in Pakistan that is played on the world’s highest polo ground at Shandur Pass in the second week of July every year. Shandur polio has been played between Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) teams since 1930.

In 1935, UK administrator for northern areas Evelyn Cobb ordered the construction of a polo ground at Shandur, and later on, it was formally organised under the government’s patronage since 1982. Besides freestyle polo, tourists enjoyed paragliding, rock mountaineering, music, cultural dances, and local sports. On the second day, children from GB and Chitral performed national songs, whereas traditional dances were exhibited by the boys of Kalash Valley. The traditional music of Gilgit Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, besides the popular Shandur song of Zek Afridi, enthralled spectators with drum beats.

Impressed by paragliding, another tourist from the Nowshera district, Khayam Omar, stated that he took a keen interest in adventure sports including mountaineering, hiking, rock climbing, and traditional food, besides polo matches here.

Enjoying the pleasant but relatively cool nights at Shandur, Omar added that cultural and musical shows with traditional able and rabab took tourists over the moon.

Khayam suggested using digital technology to showcase Shandur polo abroad to earn valuable foreign exchange for the country. Commissioner Malakand Shahidullah Khan stated that the preparations for the event were started six months ago, adding that the federal government has requested the construction of the Mastuj road for better road connectivity to Shandur.

Malakand division is most suited for adventure and mountain sports, and the provincial government, tourism department, and KPCTA are working together to make this mountainous region a hub of tourism, added Commissioner.