HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN

"Asia is the worlds rear end, and Pakistan is the hole on it!"

The ninety minute long journey tells the tale of the adventures of a two man expedition in Pakistan. The story takes us to the 8th wonder of the world, the highest altitude highway in the world, the Karakoram Highway. This is the present day equivalent to an important part of the ancient Silk Road. The highway links Pakistan to China and brings together the Muslim tribes living in the Karakoram.

It is astounding, but along the road, a territory can be found that was an independent principality until 1974. The so called Hunza Mir's Land is the homeland of fierce horse riding warrior tribes. The first Silk Road Festival has been organized just when the expedition spent time in the Hunza capital, Karimabad. The festival invited all the nomadic tribes living in the territory.

The North West Territory is the home of the Pashtu tribes, who live by their own rules and traditions. Armed conflicts are not rare among them and vendetta is a common thing. Some derive themselves from Alexander the Great, and his troops that stayed behind. Thousands of years of commerce elements of which - carpets, weapons, opium - basically haven't changed since then bound them together.

Gaining insight to this among people living in the Shimshal valley is incredibly interesting. This is Pakistan's last truly reclusive territory. It is where the Momhil glacier is, with the 6175 meters high Ambarin Sar peak on the west, the destination of the expedition. After a successful first ascent, the leading member of the team took out his snowboard as an alternative, and quick means of coming down...

And if this is not enough to grab your attention: you can also find out how a 180 cm high person can loose weight to reach 55 kilograms...

Greetings from the director: Péter Tibor Banai