| Festivals:
Shandur
Polo Festival:-
Shandur
invites visitors to experience a traditional polo tournament
which since
1936 has been held annually in July between the teams of Chitral and Gilgit.
The tournament is held on Shandur
Pass,
the highest polo ground in the world at 3,700 meters (the
pass itself is at 3,800 meters). The festival also
includes Folk
music,
dancing and a camping village is
set up.
The polo tournament is featured
in the first episode of Himalaya
with Michael Palin.
Gilgit, Chitral
and Skardu have
always played the game of polo closest to its original
form. In the past, local Rajas,
Mirs and Mehtars were the patrons of the game. At times,
more than 50% of the annual budget of their principalities
would be spent on supporting the game.There
are no umpires and there are no holds barred. The rules
are: There are no rules!
History:-
Polo
is an equestrian sport with its origin embedded in Central
Asia dating back
to 6th century BC. At first it was a training game for
cavalry units for the King's
Guards or
other Elite
troops. To the warlike tribesmen who played polo
with as many as 100 players to a side, it was a miniature
battle. It became a Persian national game in the 6th
century AD. FromPersia,
the game spread to Arabia,
then to Tibet, China and Japan.
In China,
in the year 910, death of a favourite relative in a game
prompted Emperor Apaochi to
order beheading of all players.
Historically,
polo being the king of games was played between small
kingdoms, villages and rival groups of Gilgit and Chitral.
From 1936 onwards polo tournaments were held annually at
Shandur. The three day Shandur Polo Festival has developed
steadily in recent years into the massive celebration of
mountain polo that it is today. It is organized by the
Sarhad Tourism Corporation and attended every year by
thousands of foreign and domestic tourists besides
prominent celebrities, public figures and opinion makers.
More
festivals will be updated very soon...........!
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