Chipursan Valley: Pakistan's Last Secret at the Edge of the World
A Journey into Gilgit-Baltistan's Most Remote and Breathtaking Valley
There are places in this world that don't feel like they belong to it. Places so remote, so raw, and so untouched that you begin to wonder if the rest of the planet even exists. Chipursan Valley is one of those places.
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| Zood Khun Village Towards Baba Ghundi: Pic Jan Sher Tajik |
Sitting over 3,000 meters above sea level, wedged between the towering peaks of the Karakoram and the quiet border of Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor, Chipursan is not a place you stumble upon. You have to want it. You have to chase it. And when you finally arrive — bouncing along a dusty jeep track as the mountains rise around you like walls of another world — you'll understand immediately why those who find it never quite forget it.
What Is Chipursan Valley?
Chipursan — also spelled Chapursan or Chiporsun, though locals insist "Chipursan" is the correct name, meaning "What to ask about this place" — is a valley of eight scattered villages within the Hunza District of Gilgit-Baltistan. It is the northernmost inhabited region of Pakistan, bordered by Afghanistan to the west and China to the north.
The valley is home to approximately 3,000 people across 500 households in villages like Yarzerech, Raminj, Kirmin, Reshit, Shehr-e-Subz, Ispenj, Shitmerg, and Zood Khun. Most residents speak Wakhi, an ancient Iranian language. The people of Raminj village speak Burushaski — a language famously unrelated to any other language in the world.
The landscape is like something from another planet. Moon-like terrain of reds, browns, and dusty grays broken only by ribbons of glacial blue river, clusters of mud-and-stone houses, and peaks that press down from every direction. Sakar Sar, Kumpire Dior, Kuksar, Lupghar Sar — the peaks of Chipursan are not just mountains. They are walls that guard one of the last truly quiet places on earth.
🔴 When the Earth Shook: Chipursan and the 2026 Earthquake
On January 19, 2026, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck the Chipursan Valley, sending shockwaves through one of Pakistan's most remote and vulnerable communities. In seconds, houses that had stood for generations crumbled to dust. An entire community of nearly 4,000 people was pushed into displacement — in the dead of winter, with temperatures plunging to -20°C.
Nearly 90% of the population was left living in tents. Roads already difficult to navigate were damaged further, cutting off aid routes. As aftershocks continued in the days that followed, the people of Chipursan faced a desperate race against time and the brutal mountain winter.
Today, the valley is rebuilding. The mountains still stand. The people still remain. And Chipursan — scarred but unbroken — continues to be one of the most extraordinary places on this earth.
The People: Wakhi Hospitality at the Roof of the World
If the landscape is the first thing that takes your breath away in Chipursan, the people are the second. The Wakhi people have survived for centuries in one of the harshest environments on earth — and they have done so with a warmth and generosity that humbles every traveler who passes through.
Life here is simple, seasonal, and deeply connected to the land. Families keep flocks of sheep, goats, and yaks. In summer, shepherds drive animals up to high-altitude pastures, returning only when the season turns. Nomadic Kyrgyz traders from Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor still come down through the mountain passes in June and July to trade — a tradition centuries old, barely changed by the modern world.
Polo and buzkashi — the ancient sport of headless goat polo — are played in the villages during summer. If you time your visit right, you might find yourself watching a match on a dusty field surrounded by mountains, with no stadium, no crowds — just the sport, the people, and the sky.
Wakhi Girl Shila Shreen from Zood Khun Chipurson
Picture By Ahmed Nafees Wikipedia
When to Visit Chipursan Valley
June to August is the sweet spot. Temperatures are manageable, meadows fill with grass, wildflowers bloom across the hillsides, and the sports season is in full swing. The night sky during these months — completely free of light pollution — is the kind that makes you stop walking and just look up.
May and September are still possible with cooler weather and clearer skies. April and October mean genuine cold — pipes freeze, snow falls without warning. But those who visit in the shoulder seasons often find something the summer crowds miss: silence, solitude, and a valley that belongs entirely to them.
How to Get to Chipursan Valley
Getting to Chipursan is part of the adventure. There is no easy way — and that is precisely the point.
The journey begins on the Karakoram Highway, one of the highest paved roads in the world. From Gilgit, the drive north takes roughly 8 hours to reach Zood Khun. From Karimabad in Hunza, it's about 6 hours. Most travelers break the journey near Passu, where the famous cathedral-like rock spires make for an unforgettable stop.
Sost is your last major town before the valley. From Sost, shared jeeps depart twice daily — around 10:00 AM and 2:30 PM. The 2 to 4 hour journey along an unpaved jeep track through a dramatic river canyon will shake you, test you, and reward you. Private jeeps can be arranged for around 5,000 PKR per day.
Zood Khun Village Chipurson
Picture by Jan Sher Tajik
Do You Need Permission to Visit?
Foreign visitors do not need a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to enter Chipursan Valley. You simply register at a checkpoint on the way in — have your passport ready.
However, to visit the Baba Ghundi Shrine near the Afghan border or trek into the high passes beyond, you need an NOC from the Deputy Commissioner's office in Gilgit — obtained before you leave, not in Sost or Chipursan.
Where to Stay in Chipursan Valley
Forget hotels. In Chipursan you stay in family-run guesthouses — thin mattresses, piles of blankets, bread and chai and potatoes. Electricity comes and goes. Running water in winter is not guaranteed. And none of that matters, because you get something rare in return: the feeling of being genuinely welcomed into someone's home at the edge of the world.
Most travelers base themselves in Zood Khun, the last village before the Afghan border. Pamir Serai is the most well-known guesthouse here, made famous by Lonely Planet. Other family-run options exist in Kirmin, Reshit, Ispenj, and Shitmerg.
Things to Do in Chipursan Valley
Stop first. Put away your phone — it won't work anyway. Sit with the mountains. Let the silence land on you. That alone is worth the journey.
When you're ready to move, hike to the small surreal lakes near Zood Khun — about an hour's walk through rocky terrain that feels otherworldly. Trek up to high-altitude shepherd pastures for multi-day adventures. Arrange horses or yaks through your guesthouse for deeper mountain journeys.
Visit the Baba Ghundi Shrine — a sacred Sufi site near the Afghan border where a profound quiet settles over everything. In June and July, Kyrgyz nomads descend from the Afghan Wakhan with their yaks to trade near the shrine — meeting them is a glimpse into a way of life so old it feels mythological.
And the night sky. There are no words adequate for the night sky above Chipursan.
Zood Khun Winter Sport Club play a very positive role to enhance the Winter sports in the valley
✅ Practical Tips Before You Go
- Pack warm layers even in summer — nights at 3,000+ meters get cold fast
- Bring trekking boots — even main paths are rocky and uneven
- Stock up on food and supplies in Sost — shops inside the valley are minimal
- Bring a water purifier — clean drinking water can be scarce
- Bring cash — there are no ATMs anywhere near Chipursan
- Sun protection is essential at high altitude
- Leaving the valley: one public jeep departs Zood Khun between 5:30–6:00 AM daily. It will not wait. Book your seat the night before through your guesthouse
Pakistan has no shortage of breathtaking places. But Chipursan is different — not because it is the most dramatic or the most famous, but because it demands something of you. Effort. Patience. The willingness to let go of comfort.
In return, it gives you mountains that feel alive, people who remind you what generosity actually means, a sky full of stars no photograph can capture, and a silence so complete you can hear your own thoughts for the first time in years.
Chipursan Valley is Pakistan's last secret. But standing in it — surrounded by peaks, under a sky too big and too full — it doesn't feel like a secret at all. It feels like the answer to a question you didn't know you were asking.
