Shandur Pass

The highest polo ground on earth.

At 3,700 metres, the flat grassy saddle of Shandur Pass marks the meeting point of Chitral and Gilgit, and for a few days every July it becomes the stage for the legendary Shandur Polo Festival, a fierce, saddle-cloth-free version of free-style polo played between Chitral and Gilgit teams in front of thousands of spectators camped across the plateau. Outside festival week, the pass is a quiet, wind-swept crossing between two of Pakistan's most dramatic mountain regions, with marmots, wildflowers and 360-degree views of the surrounding peaks.