The Shandur Polo Festival is three days of free-style polo played on a grass ground at 3,700 metres, on the pass between Chitral and Ghizer. It is the highest polo ground in the world, the game played on it is not the game played anywhere else, and for one week in July a pass with no permanent population becomes a tented town of tens of thousands of people.
We cross Shandur every season on the Hindu Kush tour, in July and outside it. This is what we tell people who ask about the festival — including the parts that argue against going.
The short version
- When — traditionally the second week of July, most often 7–9 July. The dates are confirmed only weeks ahead, and in some years the festival is scaled back or does not run.
- Where — the Shandur Pass, 3,700 m, on the boundary between Chitral in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Ghizer in Gilgit-Baltistan.
- Who plays — Chitral against Gilgit. The rivalry is the whole point.
- What sort of polo — free-style: six a side, almost no fouls called, and a player may catch the ball and ride with it.
- Where you sleep — a tent. There are no hotels on the pass.
- How cold — near freezing at night, in July.
- How to get there — a full day on rough road from either Chitral or Gilgit. There is no short way in.
When the Shandur Polo Festival takes place
The tournament is held in the second week of July, and 7 to 9 July are the dates it falls on more often than not. July is not chosen for the weather in any comfortable sense — it is chosen because it is the only stretch when the pass is reliably clear of snow at both ends and the ground is firm enough to gallop on.
Be careful with dates you find online. They are set by the tourism departments of two different administrations and confirmed a few weeks ahead, not a year. The festival has also been reduced in scale or postponed in individual years, for reasons ranging from weather to funding. If a trip depends on being there, confirm the dates before booking flights, and treat any figure published more than a couple of months in advance as provisional.
Where Shandur is, and why that matters
The Shandur Pass sits at about 3,700 metres on the watershed between the Hindu Kush and the Karakoram, with Chitral to the west and the Ghizer valley and Gilgit to the east. It is not a col you scramble over: the top is a broad, flat, grassy plateau with two lakes on it, which is the reason a polo ground exists there at all. There is almost nowhere else at that altitude in the region with 200 metres of level turf.
The plateau is empty for most of the year. There is no town, no permanent settlement and no accommodation. What exists in July is built for July and taken down afterwards.
The highest polo ground in the world
The ground is called Mas Junali. Major Evelyn Hey Cobb, the British Political Agent in Gilgit, is credited with laying it out in the 1930s and giving it that name — it means moonlight, and the story attached to it is that matches were played there under a full moon. Organised polo on the pass is usually dated from 1936.
The claim that it is the highest polo ground on earth is not marketing. At 3,700 metres there is roughly a third less oxygen than at sea level, and it shows in the horses more than the riders: ponies are brought up days in advance to acclimatise, and the pace of a match is set as much by what the animals can sustain as by tactics.
Free-style polo is a different sport
People who know polo from Argentina or England are usually unprepared for this. Free-style polo as played in Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan shares the horses and the mallet, and very little else.
| International polo | Free-style mountain polo | |
|---|---|---|
| Players | Four a side | Six a side |
| Fouls | Strictly umpired; right of way is the core rule | Almost nothing is called. Riding an opponent off is part of the game |
| Ball out of play | Play stops | Play rarely stops; the ball is kept alive against the wall |
| Handling the ball | Not permitted | A player may catch it and gallop with it, then strike it in the air |
| Substitutes | Freely allowed | Traditionally none, including for injury |
| Horse changes | Between every chukka | The same horse, or very few, for the whole match |
| Duration | Four to eight chukkas with breaks | Two halves of about 25 minutes |
The move that surprises everyone is the tampuk. A player who has just scored may pick the ball up, gallop back to the centre line holding it, throw it up and strike it in mid-air towards the opposition goal, all in one motion. It is the single most photographed thing that happens on the ground.
It is also a rough game, played by soldiers, policemen and farmers rather than professionals, on horses that live and work in the valleys the rest of the year. Injuries to riders and to animals are not rare. That is worth knowing before you decide it is a family day out.
Getting to Shandur
There are two roads in and both are long. The pass is not near anything.
| Approach | The route | Reckon on |
|---|---|---|
| From the west | Chitral → Mastuj → Shandur. The last 63 km from Mastuj is unpaved jeep track along the Yarkhun river. | A full day from Chitral, more in festival traffic |
| From the east | Gilgit → Gupis → Phander → Shandur, up the Ghizer valley past Phander Lake. | A long day from Gilgit |
Both need a four-wheel drive, and in festival week both carry far more traffic than they were built for. Our own traverse puts the pass 707 km into a 1,361 km route, which gives a sense of how deep into the mountains it sits rather than how long any single day takes.
The eastern approach through the Ghizer valley is the better drive if you have the choice — Phander Lake alone justifies it — and the western approach through Mastuj is the one that lets you combine the festival with Chitral and the Kalash valleys.
Sleeping on the pass
There are no hotels, guesthouses or permanent buildings at Shandur. Everyone camps. Tented camps are put up for the festival by the tourism departments, by the Chitral Scouts and by private operators, and they range from a canvas tent with a mattress to nothing at all if you have not arranged one in advance.
It drops to around freezing at night in July, and the wind across an open plateau at 3,700 metres has nothing to slow it down. A three-season sleeping bag is the minimum, four-season is better, and a down jacket is not excessive at two in the morning. Facilities are basic in the way that a field with several thousand tents on it is basic.
Altitude deserves a thought too. 3,700 metres is high enough that a night or two lower down first — Mastuj on one side, Phander on the other — makes the difference between enjoying the polo and lying in a tent with a headache. Our honest answer on safety covers what the real risks on a Pakistan trip are; altitude on this one is a manageable inconvenience rather than a danger.
What else happens
The polo is the reason but not the whole of it. The plateau fills with folk music and dance from both sides of the pass, a bazaar, paragliding when the wind allows, and — more than anything — an enormous, good-natured crowd of Pakistanis who have driven a very long way to be there. Foreign visitors are a small minority and are treated as guests, occasionally to an overwhelming degree.
The final, Chitral A against Gilgit A, is the last match and the one everybody stays for.
Should you plan a trip around it?
Honest answer: only if the festival is what you actually want.
Shandur in July is a spectacle, and a genuinely rare one. It is also cold, crowded, dusty and uncomfortable, and committing to it removes every bit of flexibility from your dates. The pass itself — the lakes, the emptiness, the drive up the Ghizer valley — is arguably better in late June or September when there is nobody on it.
The way we usually resolve it is this. If you are coming to Pakistan anyway and the dates happen to work, go, because there is nothing else like it. If you are choosing dates from scratch and what you want is mountains, valleys and forts, come in late September or October instead and cross Shandur in silence.
Our fifteen-day Hindu Kush traverse crosses the Shandur Pass on day 8, west to east, from Chitral and the Kalash valleys through to Hunza. It runs as a private departure on your own dates, which is what makes timing it to the festival possible.
See the Hindu Kush tourFrequently asked questions
When is the Shandur Polo Festival?
Traditionally the second week of July, most often 7 to 9 July. The dates are set by the tourism departments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan and confirmed only a few weeks in advance, and in some years the festival has been scaled back or postponed. Confirm before booking flights around it.
Where is the Shandur Pass?
On the boundary between Chitral District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Ghizer District in Gilgit-Baltistan, at about 3,700 metres. It is a broad grassy plateau with two lakes rather than a narrow col, which is why a full-size polo ground fits on it.
Is Shandur really the highest polo ground in the world?
Yes. The ground, called Mas Junali, sits at roughly 3,700 metres, where there is about a third less oxygen than at sea level. Ponies are brought up several days early to acclimatise, and the pace of play is limited by what the horses can sustain rather than by tactics.
What is free-style polo?
The version played in Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan: six a side, two halves of about 25 minutes, almost no fouls called, and traditionally no substitutes even for injury. A player may catch the ball and gallop with it, then strike it in mid-air — the move known as the tampuk. It is faster and considerably rougher than international polo.
Who plays at Shandur?
Chitral against Gilgit, in teams drawn largely from the police, the Chitral Scouts and local clubs rather than from professional players. The final between Chitral A and Gilgit A closes the festival and is the match the crowd stays for.
Can foreign tourists attend the Shandur Polo Festival?
Yes, and foreign visitors are a small minority who are generally treated as guests. Getting there is the difficulty rather than access: it is a full day on rough road from either Chitral or Gilgit, four-wheel drive only, on roads carrying far more traffic than usual during festival week.
Where do you stay at Shandur?
In a tent. There are no hotels or permanent buildings on the pass. Camps are set up for the festival by the tourism departments, the Chitral Scouts and private operators, and they need to be arranged in advance rather than found on arrival.
How cold is Shandur in July?
Around freezing overnight, with wind across an open plateau at 3,700 metres and strong sun by day. A three-season sleeping bag is the minimum and a down jacket is not excessive. Sleeping a night lower at Mastuj or Phander first helps with both the cold and the altitude.
How do you get to Shandur from Gilgit?
Up the Ghizer valley through Gupis and Phander, past Phander Lake. Reckon on a long day in a four-wheel drive. It is the more scenic of the two approaches and the better choice if you are travelling east to west.
Is the Shandur Polo Festival worth planning a trip around?
Only if the festival itself is the draw. It is cold, crowded and uncomfortable, and committing to it removes all flexibility from your dates. If what you want is the mountains rather than the polo, the pass is better in late June or September when it is empty.