The Shandur Pass, is the watershed between the valleys of Chitral in the Hindu Kush and Gilgit in the Karakoram. After viewing the underwhelming Polo Grounds, it was down the valley to Mastuj with cultivated fields. The upper Chitral valley was spectacular with its dry geology, glaciers, peaks and the blue sky. Mastuj is located centrally in north Chitral, about 115km/50mi from Chitral town. It lies at the left bank of Mastuj River and an old fort is located in this broad valley. (Mastuj formally became a part of Chitral in 1895.) We stopped in town to walk around for a bit and got such venomous looks from the local tribesmen walking the streets (AK-47′s strapped on) that Nigel thought it looked unsafe and hustled us back in the jeeps.

There were still long days left in this jeep safari trip and grumblings were arising that we spent all day in the jeeps with not much to see except scenery from the vehicle, got to campsites, camped, ate, went to sleep and got up the next morning only to repeat the same routine. Hopefully, the Kalash valley would be wonderful in a few days..

Welcome to Mastuj, Northwest Frontier of Pakistan
A fast gas stop somewhere…and then…

gas fill up in Mastuj on the Northwest Frontier of Pakistan
Driving from somewhere to somewhere, there was a sudden explosion on the road. The Pakistanis were dynamiting above us and rocks came flying down the mountain, barely missing one of our jeeps and bringing traffic to a sudden halt. A flagger appeared on the road after the landslide almost killed Len with boys in his jeep.

before dynamite blasting set off a landslide in Pakistan 

after a landslide that almost landed on our jeep in Pakistan 

Now the flagger appears? Pakistan