During the 19 century, the confrontation between the British and Russians over Afghanistan and Central Asia, resulted in the threat of war. Within 20 years the Russians had captured all the Khanates and in the last years of the Great Game, had closed up to the Oxus and penetrated into the Pamirs. The British were concerned that the passes through the Hindu Kush and further east were possible routes for a Russian invasion. Facing these passes were the three mountain kingdoms of Hunza, Nagar and Chitral over whom British India and the state of Jammu & Kashmir had nominal influence. This tour is about how and where the term Great Game was coined; the garrisons and communications infrastructure established by the British to support operations on their NW Frontier and how they gained control of Hunza, Nagar and Chitral.

Rudyard Kipling, had been an Assistant Editor with the Civil and Military Gazette (CMG) at Lahore from 1882-87. Lahore was the seat of the Punjab Government whose responsibility extended till the frontier with Afghanistan and during his term with the CMG, Kipling would have been well-informed of the power politics of what he termed as the Great Game in his novel Kim. Published in 1901, it unfolds against the backdrop of the rivalry between Russia and Britain in Central Asia and was probably one of the first spy thrillers.

Just as the Russians established bases and constructed roads and railways to support their southward advance, the British garrisoned and enlarged towns like Rawalpindi and Peshawar and extended the Grand Trunk (GT) Road and the Northwestern Railways through the Khyber Pass.  The tour starts with a day and a half at Kipling’s Lahore before we head to Rawalpindi which was the HQs of the British Northern Command and the main logistic base for trans and cis frontier operations. We then head further north along the old artery of the GT Road to Peshawar in the North West Frontier and spend a day exploring the famous Khyber Pass. Early next morning we set off into the mountains to traverse the routes taken by the two reliving forces to lift the Siege of Chitral, 1895. Be prepared for some spectacular scenery as we spend three fascinating days visiting sites and forts related to the Chitral and Hunza-Nagar Campaign.  We will also give you a unique experience as we penetrate further into the Great Game country – to the edge of the mountains of the Pamir Knot.  On our way back to Gilgit you will have the opportunity to explore Hunza and its fort.