Tourism in Gilgit-Baltistan

SHADOOR POLO TOURNAMENT IN GILGIT-BALTISTAN.

One of the first team sports ever played, polo is believed to have originated in Persia in the 1st century AD. From there it traveled to Tibet, China and India, where British cavalry officers adopted it with a vengeance in the 1850s. Nowhere is the charged atmosphere of "wild" polo better viewed than in northern Pakistan where rules come a distant second to derring-do and skilful horsemanship. To many, the Shandur Polo Tournament is the highlight of the polo year. Here, at 4,000m, top teams take each other on in maneuvers worthy of the Great Game itself, cheered on by    thousands of supporters.         

The Shandur Polo Festival was first organized in 1936 and has been traditional event of Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral since then. It takes place on July 7 to 9 every year in the World’s Highest Polo ground.