Shandur Top - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia a.new,#quickbar a.new{color:#ba0000} /* cache key: enwiki:resourceloader:filter:minify-css:4:f2a9127573a22335c2a9102b208c73e7 */ if ( window.mediaWiki ) { mw.config.set({"wgCanonicalNamespace": "", "wgCanonicalSpecialPageName": false, "wgNamespaceNumber": 0, "wgPageName": "Shandur_Top", "wgTitle": "Shandur Top", "wgCurRevisionId": 456674545, "wgArticleId": 2359595, "wgIsArticle": true, "wgAction": "view", "wgUserName": null, "wgUserGroups": ["*"], "wgCategories": ["Mountain passes of Pakistan", "Ghizer District", "Gilgit District", "Camping in Pakistan"], "wgBreakFrames": false, "wgRestrictionEdit": [], "wgRestrictionMove": [], "wgSearchNamespaces": [0], "wgFlaggedRevsParams": {"tags": {"status": {"levels": 1, "quality": 2, "pristine": 3}}}, "wgStableRevisionId": null, "wgVectorEnabledModules": {"collapsiblenav": true, "collapsibletabs": true, "editwarning": true, "expandablesearch": false, "footercleanup": false, "sectioneditlinks": false, "simplesearch": true, "experiments": true}, "wgWikiEditorEnabledModules": {"toolbar": true, "dialogs": true, "hidesig": true, "templateEditor": false, "templates": false, "preview": false, "previewDialog": false, "publish": false, "toc": false}, "wgTrackingToken": "e42d7014b3085916b395b03b757913fc", "wikilove-recipient": "", "wikilove-edittoken": "+\\", "wikilove-anon": 0, "mbEditToken": "+\\", "Geo": {"city": "", "country": ""}, "wgNoticeProject": "wikipedia"}); } if ( window.mediaWiki ) { mw.loader.load(["mediawiki.page.startup"]); } Shandur Top From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Shandur Top (Gilgit-Baltistan) Elevation 12,200 ft (3,719 m) Location Location Template:District Ghizer Gilgit-Baltistan Range Hindukush Mountains Coordinates 36°09′54″N 72°45′29″E / 36.165°N 72.75806°E / 36.165; 72.75806Coordinates: 36°09′54″N 72°45′29″E / 36.165°N 72.75806°E / 36.165; 72.75806 Mountain passes of Afghanistan Shandoor Lake By Rakaposhi Polo in Pakistan

Shandur Top (el. 12,200 feet (3,700 m)) located in District Ghizer of Gilgit-Baltistan. Shandur-Top in Ghizer is often called the 'Roof of the World' where the Hindukush in Gilgit-Baltistan, Between Afghanistan and Gilgit-Baltistan and Karakorum mountainous ranges of Gilgit-Baltistan meet. The top is flat, a plateau and can be crossed between late April and early November. The grade is very gradual, and the area is crossed by small streams of trout. Grazing in summer is plentiful. Every year there is a polo match played on Shandur Top between rival teams coming from Chitral(KPK) with the local teams of Gilgit-Baltistan at Shandur-Top(Gilgit-Baltistan). Shandur Pass is one of the four major mountain passes of Gilgit-Baltistan. The others are Broghol from the Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan, "Khora Borth Pass" at Ishkoman Ghizer and Chilim Pass at Astore etc.

The people who live on both sides of Shandur Top speak the Khowar language. Contents 1 Shandur Polo Festival 2 History 3 Books 4 External links 5 Districts of Gilgit-Baltistan 6 References Shandur Polo Festival Shandur invites visitors to experience a traditional polo tournament which since 1936 has been held annually1 in the first week of July between the teams of Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral. The tournament is held on Shandur Top, 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.

Various teams of Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral have always played the game of polo closest to its original form. In the past, the British Rulers were the patrons of the game. game2 Freestyled mountain polo is arguably polo in its purest form. This version of the game played at Shandur-Top has attained legendary status and is of great interest to international and domestic adventure tourists alike. There are no umpires and there are no holds barred. The rules are: There are no rules! In order to decide the final teams to play at the Shandur Polo Festival preliminary matches are played both in Gilgit and Chitral in which the best horses and players are chosen for the final games by the local juries. The festival begins on the 7th of July with a polo match between the local Ghizer Team of Gilgit-Baltistan and Laspur Team, from Chitral(KPK). During the course of the tournament A, B, C and D teams of Gilgit and Chitral battle it out on the polo field. Each team has six members with 2-4 reserve players in case of injury etc. The match duration is usually one hour. It is divided into two halves, with a 10 minutes interval. During intervals the locals enthrall the audiences with traditional and cultural performances. The game decided in favour of the team scoring nine goals. The final is held on 9 July. 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. From Persia, 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 Agency and Chitral. From 1936 onwards polo tournaments were held annually at Shandur by the British Rulers. 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 organised by the Tourism department and the locals of of Gilgit-Baltistan and attended every year by thousands of foreign and domestic tourists besides prominent celebrities, public figures and opinion makers. Books The Gilgit Game by John Keay (1985) ISBN 0-19-577466-3 The Kafirs of the Hindukush (1896) Sir George Scott Robertson. To the Frontier (1984) Geoffrey Moorehouse, pp. 267–270. Hodder and Stoughton Ltd., Reat Britain. Reprint: Sceptre edition 1988. ISBN 0-340-41725-0 External links [1] [2] Districts of Gilgit-Baltistan Ghizer Gilgit Skardu Hunza-Nagar Ghanche Astore Diamer References ^ Ground Effect - an excerpt from T. Mulliner's book Long Ride for a Pie, ISBN 1-86966-135-4 ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXm-PdF24Uo&feature=related

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilgit-Baltistan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilgit-Baltistan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilgit-Baltistan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilgit-Baltistan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilgit-Baltistan