Shandur Pass

Shandur Top Shandur Lake
Shandur Top Located in Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan
Location	tehsil Gupis, district Ghizer, Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan
Coordinates	35°59′44″N 72°36′42″E / 35.9956029°N 72.6116242°E / 35.9956029; 72.6116242Coordinates: 35°59′44″N 72°36′42″E / 35.9956029°N 72.6116242°E / 35.9956029; 72.6116242
Type	Subglacial lake, reservoir
Primary inflows	Ghizer River/ River Indus
Basin countries	Pakistan
Max. length	2 km (6,600 ft)
Max. width	0.754 km (2,470 ft)
Surface area	98 acres (40 ha)
Max. depth	80 ft (24 m)
Frozen	November to April
Settlements	Phander

Shandur Top (el. 12,200 feet (3,700 m)) located in Ghizer District, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. Shandur is often called the 'Roof of the World'. The top is flat, a plateau and can be crossed between late April and early November. The grade is very gradual, and the area is crossed by plentiful small streams during summer. The boundary line between Ghizer District and Chitral District is also situated in Shandur Top in Punji-Lasht as per the international boundary law division by watershed initially demarcated by Lt. Col AG Durand( also known as Durand boundary line).

Every year there is a polo match played on Shandur Top between the teams of Chitral District and Ghizer District.

Shandur Pass is one of the major mountain passes of Chitral-Gilgit-Baltistan.

The initiation of Polo in Shandur is credited to The balti raja of Skardu; Ali Sher Khan Anchan who built the polo graound of Shandur as well. Shandur invites visitors to experience a traditional polo tournament which since 1936 has been held annually in the first week of July between the local teams of Gilgit and Chitral. The tournament is held on Shandur Top, the highest polo ground in the world at 3,700 meters (the pass itself is at 3,800 meters). The festival also includes Folk music, dancing and a camping village is set up. The polo tournament is featured in the first episode of Himalaya with Michael Palin.

Various teams of Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan have always played the game of polo closest to its original form. During the early 20th century, the British in neighboring India were the patrons of the game.

Free-styled mountain polo is arguably polo in its purest form. This version of the game played at Shandur-Top has attained legendary status and is of great interest to international and domestic adventure tourists alike. There are no umpires and there are no holds barred. The rules are: There are no rules! In "The Roof of the World" Amin/Willets/Tetley write: "by comparison, an American Wild West rodeo might pass for choir practice."

As one player once mentioned: "You can ride head-on into the opponent, if you dare."

In order to decide the final teams to play at the Shandur Polo Festival preliminary matches are played both in Chitral and Gilgit, in which the best horses and players are chosen for the final games by the local juries. The festival begins on the 7th of July . During the course of the tournament A, B, C and D teams of Gilgit and Chitral battle it out on the polo field. Each team has six members with 2-4 reserve players in case of injury etc. The match duration is usually one hour. It is divided into two halves, with a 10 minutes interval. During intervals the locals enthrall the audiences with traditional and cultural performances. The game decided in favour of the team scoring more goals. The final is held on 9 July.