High on Shandur Pass, between Upper Chitral and the Ghizer valley of Gilgit-Baltistan, a wide green plateau with a lake becomes, for a few days each summer, the stage for one of the great sporting gatherings of the mountains. Teams from Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan meet on a polo ground at around 3,700 metres, cheered on by tens of thousands of spectators camped across the pass.
When and where
The festival was traditionally held from 7 to 9 July, but the dates are set each year by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and have moved: it took place in June in both 2025 and 2026. Snow covers Shandur from around November to April. The pass can be reached by road from both Chitral and Gilgit.
Freestyle polo
This is polo in its mountain form: freestyle, with very few formal rules. The festival opens with matches between the second teams of Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan, and after several rounds the first teams meet in the final on the last day. Matches are played in two halves with a break between them. After scoring, a player may gallop down the ground, toss the ball into the air and strike it mid-flight – a moment the crowd waits for.
The game is played to music: drummers and pipers drive riders and horses on. Around the matches there are folk dances, live music, embroidery and craft displays, paragliding, food stalls and evening cultural programmes.
In Khowar, the ground is known as Mas Junali – the 'moon ground'.
A little history
Accounts credit the British political agent Evelyn Hey Cobb with establishing polo at Shandur in the 1930s, and the festival has been held regularly since the 1980s. The rivalry is real: Chitral won every final from 2011 until 2025, and Gilgit-Baltistan ended that run in 2026.
Visiting
- Most visitors camp: the slopes and lakeside fill with tents during the festival.
- Nights at this altitude are very cold, even in summer. Bring warm clothes and bedding.
- It is dusty: sun protection and a face covering help.
- Roads are long and rough. Travel with a reliable vehicle and driver.
- Check the year's dates early, as they are announced each spring.
