5 mins read

After a day’s rest we are all set to head to Khaplu – the other Serena property in the region at a slightly higher elevation of 8,500 feet. Post breakfast we laze around a bit, check out and then pack ourselves in the complimentary van and jeep provided by Serena and begin our journey to Khaplu. The Khaplu route from Shigar retraces back to Skardu for a bit and then heads towards Khaplu at a fork in the road that marks the choice of passage to the two Serena properties.

The three and a half hour journey goes by quickly. The roads are empty of traffic because we are now literally in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by large expanses of emptiness. It’s not desolate or bleak, infact the other way round but it is empty. We take a short break by an unnamed riverbank to stretch our legs, dip our feet into the cold water and collect a few mementos. Grey slit laden water streaming slowly to merge around Raikot with River Indus. We land at Khaplu late afternoon.

khaplu-palace-clouds-1-sm — Destination Khaplu – Distant peaks and cloud formations

Like Shigar, Khaplu residences also have two flavors. The two new block have larger rooms and come with a private garden. They are open, comfortable and a little warm but opening a few pairs of windows fixes that. The older fort based rooms give you the authentic historical experience but require some athletic ability to climb stairs and negotiate corners. While the fort was built in mid nineteenth century, it was restored by the Aga Khan foundation and opened up as a tourist destination, museum and hotel in 2012-13. Our group has been allocated an entire block so we are all together in one building spread across three floors.

khaplu-palace-sm — Khaplu Palace – A mid 19th century structure restored for 21st century living

While Shigar Fort is bang in the center of activity, Khaplu palace is a little more isolated. You have neighbors but you won’t notice them till you step out for your morning walk. Both properties have a steady stream of visitors and tourists coming in throughout the day since they represent the highlight of a tourist visit to the Skardu Baltistan region.

khaplu-palace-2-sm — Balti architecture at 8500 ft.

If you want to escape from that stream, the private gardens with the guest residences in both properties provide that isolation. At Khaplu there is also stream but you have to walk a bit uphill to get to it. The stream comes through a system of manmade water works using natural materials and guides that feeds the surrounding village. It creates standing pools of chilled clean water and streamlets that you can easily and safely wash your face and dip your feet in. The running water is both refreshing and soothing, irrespective of your decision to dip extremities in it.

khaplu-stream-3-sm — The magical stream that runs by the Palace – Step outside, hang left, go uphill to the bridge

The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and comes with covered indoor space as well as open air dining options. It’s drizzling lightly as we arrive and the weather has suddenly turned cooler. We finally have an excuse to break out all the heavy gear we have been carrying for the past few days.

Our first order after check in is to plan a generous lunch with fresh rainbow trout, locally grown and caught in Khaplu serving as the centerpiece. Serena’s kitchens in both the Fort and the Palace are a breath of fresh air. The chefs are exceedingly friendly and open to recommending dishes based on your personal preferences as well as trying out new recipes. Before heading out last year for our Gilgit and Hunza trip I had asked a Chitrali friend for advice. His only suggestion was to eat at the hotel kitchens and stay away from local dhabas and road side stands. According to him city folks are not used to mountain water and once you go down with an upset stomach in this part of the world, you are likely to stay down.

khaplu-palace-woodwork-1-sm — Balti wood work – still alive and well.

This time the two garden suites have further upped the stakes. Both rooms open up under multiple apricot trees that are laden with fresh, ready to eat, ripe fruit. More than the kids, it’s the grandparents who go wild with the apricots. It takes them back to their childhood days where cities and towns still had orchards where you could simply pick and eat from the trees. Every morning for the next three days they have a steady supply of freshly picked apricots, cherries and mulberries in their rooms.

We came here to spend time with family, trek and hike. It doesn’t take long after the extended lunch session and a short power nap for the first group to venture out for sightseeing. While we are living in a museum what really interests us is the opportunity to trek. Step out of the main hotel entrance and hang a left. You will see a paved metaled road heading uphill. That is the one you want. You will pass residence on the left, farms on the right. At the first curve, take a moment to peak between the broken fence on the valley below and the hills in the distance. Sunrise or sunset mixed with cloud cover makes for some interesting sights. Walk two hundred meters and you will come to the next big curve. There is a bridge over streaming white water that connects your side of the road to the village across. Continue heading uphill on that road and you will find multiple opportunities for short as well as long treks.

khaplu-stream-2-sm — Refreshing clean chilled water – free range style.

Over the next three days we go farther and farther up but keep on missing the main path. On our last trek on the last day, just before we are about to head back to Shigar I finally figure out the path I was supposed to take. But it is too late to go exploring. But we are lucky. We have discovered our fair share of wading pools, raging waters, trails off the beaten track and breathtaking views. The isolation and peace that the neighborhood around Khaplu Palace brings with it, unlike Shigar, is refreshing and we try and make the most of it.

In addition to the palace itself there are activities for a day trip that you can plan. You can do a day long combination of trout fishing and hike at a local trout farm where you can catch fish from a pond and have it served to you there and then. While they are marinating and cooking your catch, you can go for a short hike up a hill to work up your appetite. There is the local khanqah and mosque that is being restored and expanded as part of the village and community self-funding program. The mosque stands on pillar of giant walnut trees and the restoration project is the one of the biggest thing the community is involved in. There is also a mountain trek at the back of the palace that will take you to the vantage point that provides a 360 view of the entire community. Ask any of the staff at the hotel or the restaurant and they will find a guide for you who can take you on that trek. If you are lucky and find clear skies don’t miss opportunities for star gazing. 8,500 feet elevation, clear skies, limited light pollution makes for starry nights you would never experience in your city life. If you have come prepared K-2 basecamp is just 6 days away from Khaplu.

If you are out of ideas, just sit down at the reception and talk to the shift managers or the manager in charge of Khaplu palace for ideas. They are most helpful.

4 mins read

Skardu calling. The Shigar Khaplu break.

After 2015’s amazing summer escape to Gilgit, this year we wanted to aim for something equally adventurous. Intrepid traveler and globe trotter Afia Salam suggested we take a look at Shigar and Khaplu and put us in touch with her equally fearless friend Sarwat Majeed. Sarwat is the General Manager for Serena and runs the two Serena properties at Shigar and Khaplu. She is the go to person if you are planning to be in the region and need assistance with planning and arranging your stays at the two restored historical forts – Shigar and Khaplu palace.

skardu-shigar-1 — On the way to Shigar, from Skardu. Mystical magical landscapes.

While last year was an experiment involving just a single set of grandparents, this year we were planning on breaking new ground by taking three sets of grandparents with their extended families, with half a dozen grand children included. The decision to look at Shigar and Khaplu was driven by PIA’s decision to introduce an A310 service to Skardu. The new airbus not just had more seats but also flew more frequently and more reliably than the ATR service to Skardu from Islamabad.

The road trip to Gilgit is two days of travel time with a stopover at Besham. Gilgit Skardu is another day on top of that. That is three days of travel one way for 16 weary travelers. If we took that path we would spend most of our post Ramazan summer break coped up in a van, or even worse two vans. The decision was made to commit to Shigar and Khaplu as long as we could make the logistics work.

In March 2016, I finally picked up the phone and called Sarwat at the Shigar Serena and learnt a very valuable and important lesson. Both Khaplu and Shigar are boutique restored heritage properties. Which essentially means three things:

While they can accommodate small groups easily, a large group would basically take over an entire wing of the two property.
Given what they represent and the experience the Aga Khan foundation has done and the many tweaks made by the current team, both properties are very much in demand.
If you want to plan a summer break at Shigar or Khaplu in July you need to book way in advance in March, latest by end March. You could risk just showing up on the door but that in most cases would only get you to sample the lovely fares put out by Mohammad Ali, the Shigar chef. Getting the room at short notice in peak season is next to impossible.

Sarwat was very gracious and helpful. There was not enough space to accommodate 16 people but we could book what was available and figure it out as we got close to our dates. She also became my guide on navigating the PIA flight schedule from Islamabad and the ability to read the weather reports to see if a flight would fly on time or get cancelled. While our plan was confirmed, we weren’t sure, how many of us would actually have a room of our own and how many would have to bunk with each other. Since it was just one large extended close knit family, as long as Shigar and Khaplu didn’t mind, we didn’t have any issues.

skardu-khaplu-stream-1-sm — A fresh stream runs by Khaplu Palace.

The weather forecast was looking good. Skardu has two weeks of summer in July. We were scheduled to fly in and out within those two weeks. There was a reasonable chance that no cloud cover or storm system would get in our way and lead to flight cancellations. That was the best case.

Sarwat was upfront. She said, listen you are coming for a break with a large group. Just make sure that you are all comfortable with moving things around by a day or so at short notice. It’s a lovely place to spend time with family. Come and stay in vacation mode, don’t stress out. We have been here for a while, we will figure out if things ever go south. Be comfortable and be flexible and most importantly be cool. Leave the rest to us.

The final itinerary looked like this. We would all catch the PIA flight from Karachi to Islamabad the night before. We would grab rooms at a local nearby hotel and sleep in early. Next morning at 8 am was our scheduled flight to Skardu. We would be picked up at the airport by Serena and driven to Shigar, roughly an hour away. We will take a day break in Shigar and then head to Khaplu the next morning. Three days in Khaplu, which was three and a half hours away and then back to Shigar for a day before catching our flights to Islamabad the next morning.

While hotel and flights were booked and locked down by early April, the actual trip was still three months away. Looking up weather reports for Skardu became a routine. The whole point of escaping from Karachi was to escape from the heat so we weren’t sure how we felt about 24 degree weather in Skardu.

skardu-khaplu-plains-2 — Ask and you shall receive. Rivers, flood plains, mountains, streams and grass lands. All in one location.

The plus side was that no rain and hence cloud cover was expected in July. We had all heard good things about the two properties from everyone who had been there and they had been consistent in appreciating Sarwat and her team.

The bigger challenge however was deciding between Deosai, Shangrilla, Upper Katchura and Khaplu. Everyone in our group had heard of the gorgeous Shangrilla and they wanted to see it.

But here was the issue. You go up from Skardu towards Shigar and Khaplu. To do Deosai and Shangrilla you have to come all the way back to Skardu. You could do one not both and certainly not in one day. The Shangrilla voters won the election and we kept Deosai for the return leg of the trip. The revised game plan was that as soon as we landed, we will check in, freshen up and head toward Shangrilla and the lake at Upper Katchura in two jeeps. Serena would arrange to have the jeeps ready and on standby with packed lunch boxes that we could eat on the drive. The adventurous lot could hop in, while the less adventurous ones could take the day off, recover and get ready for the next day’s drive. We thought all the oldies will most likely stay back and rest and the grand children will take the jeeps for a romp.

On the way back from Khaplu, depending on how we felt, we could check out the Deosai plains. That is if we still had the strength to explore and spend another 8 hours locked inside a jeep. But that decision was still three months away.

Continued at Destination Shigar…