Participating teams of Gilgit-Baltistan Girls Football League  2019 at Passu, Gojal, Hunza: Photo: GBGFL Ayesha Izhar As the first ray of light gleams on the snow-capped mountains of Gilgit-Baltistan, a select bunch of girls wake up to prepare for a long day ahead, full of challenges. They will be playing football on the rugged mountainous terrain of the beautiful Gilgit-Baltistan’s …

DID we really need Cynthia Ritchie to tell us how wonderful Pakistanis are or how beautiful Kaghan and Naran are? Why should we be more impressed with or inclined to believe foreign accounts of our own country? Last April, the Pakistani government rolled out the red carpet for foreign travel bloggers at the Pakistan Tourism Summit held in Islamabad but …

Globally over 75m jobs are at risk in tour and hospitality sectors, 48.7m in Asia-Pacific and 75,000 in Pakistan   High Asia Herald Report As adventure tourism season in Pakistan draws closer and the country reeling from the devastating impact of coronavirus pandemic, the tour operators in Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral are still hoping against hope. Although Pakistan has eased lockdown and …

Herald Report An Italian hard rock ballad has penned a song to in memory of two young climbers who met a tragic death while pursuing their passion on one of the 14 high mountains in the Pakistani-administered Gilgit-Baltistan region. The tragic end of Italian climber Daniele Nardi and his British colleague Tom Ballard during an ascent on the most difficult …

The pandemic causes a 22% decline in tourist arrivals in Q1, or $80bn loss, says UNWTO reports   Herald Report The coronavirus pandemic has caused 22% fall in international tourist arrivals in the first quarter (Q1) of the financial year 2020 and could further drop by 60-80% over the whole year, says a report. The UN tourism watchdog says 67 …

News Desk As some countries start to see light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel and authorities struggle to balance safety and the economy, a few signals hint that hope is not lost for the summer climbing season in Pakistan, writes Angela Benavides in the ExplorersWeb. Like every other country in the world, Pakistan is suffering from the pandemic. …

Bismah, Dar and Javeria give Pakistan an opening victory of Women’s T20 World Cup 2020   CANBERRA: Pakistan’s women launched their campaign in the ICC T20 World Cup with a magnificent eight-wicket win over West Indies in a group ‘B’ match when they outperformed the 2016 winners at the Manuka Oval ground in Canberra on Wednesday. Sharp New Ball bowling …

The 32-year-old Russian tennis star will be remembered in many corners of her sport with respect more than affection   BERLIN: Maria Sharapova, the Russian five-time Grand Slam champion who became one of the highest-paid sportswomen in the world, announced her retirement at the age of 32 on Wednesday. She will be remembered in many corners of her sport with …

Mount Damavand, Alborz mountain range, Iran. Photo: Matthew Traver by Matthew Traver Since 1980, more than 400 people have climbed the Seven Summits — the highest mountains on each continent writes Matthew Traver in the ExplorersWeb.Com. A lesser-known and rarely attempted sister challenge is the Volcanic Seven Summits, which was first accomplished by Italian Mario Trimeri and 16-year-old Romanian Crina …

by Fakhr-e-Alam The first-ever, a snow skiing training camp was held in upper Chitral for young winter sports enthusiasts. Asif Murad, an emerging activist of Chitral had organized the five-day snow skiing training camp at Kaklasht under his organization “Hindukush Mountaineering and Adventure Club”. The camp is attended by more than 50 young people including girls, from Chitral, Hunza, and …