Shandur Hot Springs

Shandur Hot Springs on the Shandur plateau at 3,734 metres in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of northern Pakistan emerge on what is called the 'Roof of the World' — a vast high-altitude grassland where Pakistan, Afghanistan and China converge in a landscape of glaciated peaks and remote pastoral communities. The bicarbonate springs emerge from the volcanic geology of the Hindu Kush-Karakoram junction, providing warm bathing in a setting of extraordinary remoteness and altitude. Shandur is internationally known for its annual Shandur Polo Festival in July, where teams from Gilgit and Chitral play polo at the world's highest polo ground in a tradition dating from the era of the British Great Game. The thermal springs here offer the unusual experience of bathing at altitude amid one of the world's most dramatic mountain landscapes, with views extending to the Hindu Kush ranges of Afghanistan.