At a height of kilometers, a sport is played, the danger of which terrifies families – Northern Pakistan is the last refuge of freestyle polo

SHANDURI PASS. The snow-capped mountains rise to almost 4,000 meters around a small valley, in the middle of which a polo field has been built – the highest in the world.

Traditional whistle music echoes in the stands as the horses gallop after the ball while the riders whip their clubs. A bright blue lake floats in the background.

An annual polo festival is organized in the Shandur Pass in northern Pakistan, where polo teams from the neighboring cities of Gilgit and Chitral compete against each other. Due to the corona virus, the tournament has not been organized in two years.

– Every polo player hopes to play on this field, says the captain of the Gilgit team Moazzam Ali Ahmad.

Polo is often associated with the British, but the roots of the game probably go back somewhere in Central Asia, to a time before the countdown. Many in northern Pakistan believe that polo was invented here.

– We believe that we brought this game to the world, Chitral team player Anwar Khan says.

The game is strongly intertwined with the local culture – from an early age, children grow up admiring local heroes.

– If you are a polo player in your area, you are a famous guy in your village, Khan explains.

The Shandur Polo Festival lasts three days in total. Thousands of people arrive at the venue from all over Pakistan and even the world to watch the competition.

Shandur is uninhabited – just a tent village pitched for the festival. At an altitude of almost 4,000 meters, breathing suddenly becomes difficult. Therefore, it is possible to use only local horses used to thin air in the tournament.

– The team with the best horses wins, Sher Ghiyaz About the Gilgit team says.

According to Khan, who played and won the previous day, the most important thing in horses is size and quick reaction to the rider’s commands.

Khan rode there for two days with his horses from Chitral. It would not be possible to transport horses by car on a dangerous mountain road.

For the majority of spectators and players, it’s about the experience – not so much about the result of the competition.

The Shandur festival is still connected to a strong competitive spirit. The mountain pass is disputed: both the surrounding provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, claim it for themselves.

Masroof Jahaan, a teacher from Gilgit has come there with a few of his students. The girls will soon perform the national anthem of Pakistan in traditional clothes.

– I hope Gilgit wins. I am from there, so of course I support them, says Jahan.

In the stands, the tension builds as the Chitral team scores goals one after the other. Gilgit seems to stay on the bottom nail.

Still, the captain of the Gilgit team does not seem disappointed at the interval.

– Unfortunately, we missed many goals. But the team is still playing well, says Ahmad.

There will be dangerous situations. Many players also lack a helmet.

A player from the Gilgit team falls off the horse and gets caught under the animal’s hooves. For a while he lies unconscious on the ground and the man is already being put on a stretcher until he finally wakes up.

Soon the player is back in the saddle.

As in other parts of the world, polo in Pakistan is mostly played by men. There are some exceptions.

– Women can play, but our society is dominated by men. I hope that the future generation of women would take more part in this sport and that they too would come to the field, says teacher Jahan.

However, it can be tricky. Families usually don’t want to let women participate in a game where injuries happen so easily.

There is something more special about the Shandur polo festival than the height.

– This is the last place in the world where freestyle polo is played, says captain Ahmed.

So there are no referees.

– We play polo in its original form. There is only one rule: that there are no rules.

Ahmed emphasizes that polo in northern Pakistan is not only a sport, but an important part of local culture and folklore.

– Polo is in our blood.